ECHOES 


FROM    THE 


BATTLEFIELD; 

OR, 

SOUTHERN   LIFE  DURING 
THE  WAR. 


BY 

NOBLE     C.     WILLIAMS, 

OF     ATLANTA,     GA. 


ATLANTA,  GA.: 

THE    FRANKLIN    PRINTING    AND    PUBLISHING    COMPANY, 
190*. 


Copyrighted,  1902, 

By 
NOBLE  C.  WILLIAMS. 


I  affectionately  dedicate  this  book  to 

/IDs  Wife, 

whose  love  and  helpfulness  have  ever  been  an 
inspiration  to  me  ;  and  to  my  son , 

floble  C.  "BClilliamg,  5r., 

that  he  may  remember  the  history  of  Ins 
forefathers, 


fe 

o 


302231 


PREFACE. 


After  a  lapse  of  many  years  a  retrospective  mood  possessed 
my  thoughts,  and  for  a  brief  period  I  was  no  longer  a  man  but  a 
boy  full  of  life,  and  was  once  more  playing  with  other  children 
on  the  grounds  of  the  old  homestead,  enjoying  myself  as  only  a 
healthy  lad  can;  and  while  thus  musing  every  scene  in  the  grand 
but  cruel  panorama  of  war  passed  rapidly  before  my  vision  and 
tempted  me  so  strongly  that  I  could  not  resist  the  temptation  to 
write  and  leave  to  my  only  child  a  true  record  of  events  as  they 
occurred  during  that  stormy  period  of  our  civil  war.  This  is  the 
only  apology  I  can  offer  for  this  faulty  little  publication ;  but 
since  it  is  finished,  I  now  offer  it  to  all  who  are  willing  to  pass 
its  imperfections  by;  and  hope  that  some  of  its  readers  who  were 
so  fortunate  as  to  escape  the  realities  of  war  may  by  its  perusal 
glean  something  of  interest.  And  may  some  of  the  characters 
in  it  be  found  worthy  of  emulation.  I  have  added  some  very 
beautiful  poems  by  the  best  of  authors,  which  will  be  found  ex- 
ceedingly instructive  as  well  as  pleasing.  , 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  I. 

Page. 
A  YOUNG  MAN'S   STRUGGLE   FOR  AN  EDUCATION.       1 

CHAPTER  II. 

THE    YOUNG   DOCTOR    LOCATES   AND  is  HAPPILY 
MARRIED 3 

CHAPTER  III. 

MOVES  TO  A  NEW  HOME  ;  DEATH  OF  THEIR  FIRST 
BORN ._ 7 

CHAPTER  IV. 

SETTLES   FOR   LIFE    AS    THE    WAR    BLASTS    ARE 
SOUNDED __    , 11 

CHAPTER  V. 

THE  SOUTH  SECEDES  ;  A  SON  TO   THE   ARMY  AND 
RETURN 14 

CHAPTER  VI. 

Two  SONS   AND   A   YOUNG   NORTHERNER  TO   THE 
FRONT..  20 


VIII  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  VII. 

DEATH  OF  THEIR  SOLDIER   SON,  PICKENS   NOBLE.     24 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

DEATH  OF  THE  NORTHERN  BOY,  ROBERT  CLINGAN, 
ON  THE  BATTLEFIELD 27 

CHAPTER  IX. 
BOMBARDMENT  OF  ATLANTA    BY   GEN.   SHERMAN.     30 

CHAPTER  X. 

THE  DOCTOR'S  FIRST  ILLNESS  ;  THE  HEROISM  DIS- 
PLAYED BY  His  WIFE  WHILE  DRIVING  AWAY 
ROBBERS 34 

CHAPTER  XL 

BATTLE  OF  THE  22o  OF  JULY,  DEATH  OF  GEN- 
ERALS WALKER  AND  MCPHERSON 39 

CHAPTER  XII. 

INVASION  BY  PLUNDERERS  AFTER  THE  DEPART- 
URE OF  GEN.  SHERMAN 46 

CHAPTER  XIII. 

THE  SETTING  ON  FIRE  OF  MUNITIONS  OF  WAR 
BY  THE  CONFEDERATES  .  48 


CONTENTS.  IX 

CHAPTER  XIV. 

THE  FAMILY  SCATTERED,  EDWARD'S  RETURN  AND 
DEATH     50 

CHAPTER  XV. 

A  REUNION  OF  THE  DOCTOR'S  FAMILY,  AND  DEATH 

OF   AGED  COUPLE 55 

LETTER  FROM  A  UNION   SURGEON   AT  THE    CLOSE 

OF  THE  WAR 60 

ORPHAN  GIRL'S  PRAYER 63 

THE  WAR  is  OVER 65 

MISCELLANEOUS  WAR  POEMS  -.71-92 


ECHOES  FROM  THE  BATTLEFIELD 

OR 

SOUTHERN  LIFE  DURING  THE  WAR. 


CHAPTER  I. 

Before  the  rude  blasts  of  war  were  sounded  and  the  sis- 
ter States  of  this  Union  had  ceased  to  dwell  in  peace,  there 
resided  in  the  beautiful  and  thrifty  little  city  of  Atlanta, 
•Ga.,  a  truly  Southern  family,  the  father  of  which  was  a 
South  Carolinian  by  birth  and  an  inheritant  of  the  best 
blood  of  that  State.  He  removed  to  Georgia  when  quite  a 
young  man  to  practice  his  chosen  profession,  which  was 
that  of  healing  the  sick.  No  man  was  ever  better  quali- 
fied to  perform  the  duties  of  physician  and  surgeon  than 
this  noble  doctor,  for  by  hard  study  at  the  best  of  schools 
he  had  been  pronounced  one  of  the  most  classical  of  schol- 
ars. After  he  had  finished  school  he  attended  Jefferson 
Medical  College  of  Philadelphia,  Pa.,  and  became  anM.D., 
and  quite  proud  he  must  have  been  to  know  that  he  re- 
ceived the  reward  for  which  he  had  striven  so  hard,  under 
such  difficulties  as  riding  all  the  way  from  his  home  on 
the  banks  of  the  Savannah  river  to  Philadelphia  and  return 
on  horseback,  through  a  rough,  broken,  and  sparsely  set- 
tled country ;  where  the  Indians  were  still  roaming  around 


Z  ECHOES  FROM  THE  BATTLEFIELD 

and  not  many  of  them  were  on  very  cordial  terms  with  the 
whites ;  where  the  wild  beasts  of  the  forest  were  a  constant 
menace  to  life  and  limb,  and  wild  game  was  so  plentiful 

» 

as  to  attract  but  little  attention,  such  difficulties  to  be  met 
with  were  sure  ;  for  the  iron-horse  was  not  then  in  general 
use,  and  many  a  timid  lad  would  have  been  content  to  dwell 
on  the  banks  of  the  Savannah  and  lead  the  life  of  a  farmer, 
rather  than  brave  the  discomforts  and  dangers  of  travel. 
But  not  so  with  this  noble  young  man,  who,  while  it  may 
be  said  of  him  that  he  was  very  delicate,  yet  the  fires  of 
ambition  were  kindled  to  a  glowing  heat  within  his  mighty 
brain,  and  he  pressed  forward  and  obtained  the  glittering 
prize  which  fitted  him  to  proficiently  practice  as  physician 
and  surgeon.  For  not  as  now,  when  each  medical  man 
must  practice  as  a  specialist,  he  was  forced  to  attend  to  a 
general  practice  as  physician  and  surgeon.  After  bidding 
grand  old  Jefferson  a  last  farewell,  he  started  on  his  home- 
ward journey,  which  was  an  uneventful  one,  save  the 
thoughts  which  filled  his  brain  while  going  to  obtain  his 
education  were  entirely  different  on  the  home-coming  ;  for 
he  went  forth  a  delicate  young  man  filled  with  swamp 
malaria,  eager  to  obtain  his  chosen  profession,  and  while 
drinking  from  the  Jefferson  fountain  of  knowledge  he  also 
drank  of  the  pure  crystal  waters  of  the  Schuylkill  river, 
which  restored  him  to  perfect  health.  Thus  as  he  pressed 
forward  on  his  homeward  journey  in  the  full  strength  of  a 
vigorous  manhood,  he  was  indeed  a  happy  man. 


OR    SOUTHERN   LIFE   DURING   THE   WAR. 


CHAPTER  II. 

Arriving  at  home  after  a  long  and  tiresome  journey,  where 
he  was  received  with  overflowing  love  and  pride  by  his 
family,  he  felt  fully  repaid  for  the  trials  and  hardships  he 
had  undergone  and  the  diligence  devoted  to  study.  While 
at  home  he  must  make  a  decision  as  to  a  location  where 
to  begin  his  practice.  After  several  trips  and  much  thought 
on  the  subject  he  selected  Elbert  county,  Georgia,  as  his 
future  home.  He  soon  made  friends  among  the  people 
and  began  to  do  some  practice,  and  was  frequently  called 
on  proffessionally  to  attend  the  sick  ofthe  adjoining  county 
of  Wilkes.  Among  the  men  of  this  county  there  was  one 
who  was  greatly  pleased  with  the  young  Doctor  C.  He 
was  a  quaint  middle-aged  Irishman  by  the  name  of  Ned 
Malalley,  who  was  exceedingly  good-hearted,  as  most  Irish- 
men are.  It  was  he  who  first  introduced  Doctor  C.  to  his 
future  wife,  which  was  performed  in  the  following  unique 
manner,  uMiss  Lucy,  allow  me  the  pleasure  of  introducing 
to  you,  my  young,  handsome,  and  greatly  esteemed  friend 

Doctor  C.,  and  it  is  a  great  pity  he  drinks, water."  Miss 

Lucy  was  greatly  shocked  at  such  a  queer  introduction,  es- 
pecially as  it  took  the  water  so  long  to  take.  Doctor  0. 
was  at  once  completely  charmed  with  the  beautiful  Miss 
Lucy  at  this  their  first  meeting.  Her  lovely  figure,  tall  and 
graceful,  with  eyes  of  exquisite  blue,  and  a  complexion  of 
alabaster  tinted  with  roses,  formed  as  she  stood  before  him, 


4  ECHOES  FROM  THE  BATTLEFIELD 

a  picture  of  perfect  health  and  loveliness — one  which  could 
not  be  hidden  from  his  vision.  While  stooping  over  the  bed- 
side of  some  sick  one  this  vision  of  female  loveliness  would 
flash  forth  before  him,  and  when  tired  and  worn-out  from 
the  labors  of  the  long  day  he  sought  his  much-needed  rest, 
no  sooner  would  his  eyelids  close  than  the  idol  of  his  heart, 
his  guardian  angel,  would  appear  to  him  in  his  dreams. 
Such  a  state  of  affairs  was  not  destined  long  to  exist,  for  in 
the  short  while  he  had  known  her,  he  had  loved  her  as  he 
had  loved  none  other,  and  felt  that  to  live  apart  from  her 
sweet  presence  was  a  punishment  greater  than  he  could 
bear;  hence  his  calls  to  see  her  were  more  and  more  fre- 
quent, and  as  at  length  he  thought  he  could  see  in  return 
for  his  own  the  lovelight  kindle  in  her  eyes,  he  asked  her 
to  become  his  wife  ;  while  she  in  her  modest  and  womanly 
way  made  answer  yes.  It  had  been  to  both  like  one  of 
those  rare  old  cases  of  love  at  first  sight.  Her  father  was 
a  farmer  possessed  of  some  means  and  sheriff  of  the  county 
iu  which  he  resided,  and  it  was  at  his  beautiful  old-fashioned 
southern  country  home,  one  surrounded  by  every  comfort, 
that  these  two  hearts,  which  for  some  months  past  had  beat 
in  unison,  were  now  to  be  united  in  one.  The  day  had 
dawned  beautiful  and  bright;  the  woodland  and  the  mead- 
ows were  aglow  with  the  beauties  of  spring;  the  little  violets 
were  shyly  peeping  out  from  their  leafy  beds;  the  grassy 
meadows  were  wrapt  in  their  rich  carpets  of  green;  the 
trees  and  leafy  bowers  were  filled  with  beautiful  birds, 
which  were  pouring  forth  upon  the  flower-perfumed  air 


OR    SOUTHERN    LIFE    DURING    THE   WAR.  5 

their  sweet  melodious  anthems  of  joy;  the  broad  and  well- 
kept  winding  country  roadway  was  more  lovely  than  ever 
before,  and  all  nature  seemed  to  speak  of  happiness.  It  was 
under  such  favorable  circumstances  that  Doctor  C.,  accom- 
panied by  a  friend,  after  a  short  drive,  arrived  at  the  home 
of  his  loved  one,  just  as  the  golden  sun  was  slowly  sinking 
to  rest  behind  a  bank  of  snow-white  clouds,  the  edges  of 
which  were  tinted  with  a  delicate  blending  of  rose  and  pur- 
ple; and  as  its  last  rays  penetrated  the  tops  of  the  majestic 
old  oaks,  the  scene  was  one  of  such  exquisite  beauty  as  never 
to  be  forgotten.  Once  on  the  inside  of  this  hospitable  old 
homestead,  all  except  the  invited  guests  were  very  busy 
making  preparations  for  the  gorgeous  repast  which  was  to  be 
partaken  of  immediately  after  the  wedding.  The  spacious 
parlors  had  already  been  tastefully  arranged,  and  the  serv- 
ants were  busy  in  the  dining-room  placing  all  of  the  delica- 
cies of  the  season  on  the  snowy  tables,  which  fairly  groaned 
under  the  weight  of  the  good  things.  The  negro  servants 
who  by  the  way  were  devoted  to  Miss  Lucy,  were  happy  in 
anticipation  of  the  approaching  festivities,  as  they  well  knew 
that  they  were  to  be  permitted  to  enjoy  themselves  to  the 
uttermost  the  same  as  the  whites,  the  only  difference  being 
that  they  were  to  sup  last,  but  not  least.  Soon  after  the 
candles  were  lighted  the  minister  arrived,  and  all  of  the 
assembled  guests  were  ushered  into  the  spacious  parlors 
followed  by  the  bride  and  groom,  where  the  quiet  but  im- 
pressive marriage  ceremony  was  performed.  After  which 
all  repaired  to  the  dining-room  to  partake  of  a  most  deli- 


6  ECHOES  FROM  THE  BATTLEFIELD 

cious  repast,  and  indulge  in  spoken  good  wishes  for  the 
future  of  Doctor  C.  and  his  newly  found  wife.  For  an 
hour  or  more,  amid  congratulations,  joy  and  mirth  pervaded 
the  surrounding  atmosphere,  and  would  have  continued 
longer  had  not  the  doctor  and  his  bride  arranged  to  be 
transported  to  their  future  home  at  an  early  hour ;  so  the 
good-byes  were  hastily  spoken,  and  good  wishes  for  their 
prosperity  and  health  said  ;  but  amid  all  the  gaiety  there  was 
much  of  sorrow.  The  friends  of  Miss  Lucy  were  loath  to 
part  with  her,  as  many  had  known  and  loved  her  from 
earliest  childhood;  the  eyes  of  her  fond  parents  were  now 
filled  with  tears,  because  of  their  many  doubts  and  fears 
for  the  future  of  their  darling.  But  none  seemed  to  take 
to  heart  the  thoughts  of  an  indefinite  separation  more  than 
the  black  mammy  who  had  nursed  and  cradled  her  from  her 
babyhood;  and  as  she  stooped  and  kissed  the  brow  of  that 
fair  young  bride,  and  bade  her  farewell,  with  a  God  bless 
you,  my  honey,  my  child,  the  tears  flowing  down  her  dusky 
cheeks  like  rain,  none  present  could  have  doubted  the  love 
and  sincerity  of  this  poor  old  soul. 


OK   SOUTHERN   LIFE   DURING    THE    WAR. 


CHAPTER  III. 

A  short  while  before  his  marriage  Dr.  C.  had  taken  a 
trip  to  the  then  busy  little  town  of  Decatur,  Ga.,  and  while 
there  he  decided  to  change  his  location  from  Elbert  county 
to  Decatur.  He  therefore  purchased  a  beautiful  large  lot 
with  a  small  plain  cottage  at  a  very  low  price,  as  his  means 
were  very  limited,  a  fact  which  had  been  made  known  to 
Miss  Lucy  and  her  parents.  Her  family  possessed  ample 
means  to  have  given  the  young  people  quite  a  nice  start, 
which  they  freely  offered,  but  was  courteously  but  firmly 
declined  by  the  proud-spirited  young  doctor,  preferring 
love  in  a  cottage,  for  which  he  had  struggled,  to  affluence 
which  came  as  a  gift.  After  traveling  half  of  one  night 
and  nearly  one  full  day  by  private  conveyance,  they  ar- 
rived in  the  little  town  of  Decatur,  and  were  very  cordially 
received  by  the  doctor's  friends.  They  spent  a  few  days  at 
the  pleasant  little  inn  ot  the  town,  after  which  they  fur- 
nished and  moved  into  their  little  cottage,  where  love  now 
reigned  supreme.  Soon  after  they  commenced  housekeep- 
ing the  doctor  was  kept  very  busy  answering  calls,  some  of 
which  carried  him  many  miles  from  home ;  and  sometimes 
he  was  detained  for  quite  a  while,  owing  to  the  serious 
condition  of  the  patient. 

It  would  seem  that  such  an  existing  state  of  affairs 
could  afford  but  little  pleasure  to  the  wife  of  but  a  few 
months,  as  she  was  so  frequently  unavoidably  forced  to  re- 


8  ECHOES  FROM  THE  BATTLEFIELD 

main  alone  for  a  considerable  length  of  time;  but  such  was 
not  the  case,  for  while  she  felt  some  fear  and  frequent  spells 
of  loneliness  crept  over  her,  yet  with  a  brave  heart  she 
cast  aside  the  unpleasant  features  of  life  and  looked  on  the 
bright  side  of  everything  which  might  pertain  to  his  and 
her  future  happiness.  Thus  she  lived,  passing  her  time  as 
most  women  do  in  attending  to  the  many  household  duties 
necessarily  incumbent  upon  them.  She  also  spent  much 
time  in  the  front  yard,  where  many  trees  had  been  left 
standing  and  innumerable  stumps  were  to  be  found;  it  re- 
quired much  labor  to  remove  the  stumps  and  put  the  land 
in  a  suitable  condition  for  a  lawn  and  flower-yard.  As 
she  was  frequently  without  a  servant,  her  own  fair  and 
delicate  hands  would  often  use  a  hoe  in  digging  around  and 
removing  the  stumps.  By  doing  a  little  from  day  to  day 
she  soon  had  the  front  yard  in  such  a  condition  that  it  was 
but  little  trouble  to  sow  the  lawn  and  plant  flowers,  which 
soon  began  to  grow  and  blossom ;  and  although  it  had  been 
quite  a  tiresome  undertaking  for  one  so  unused  to  labor, 
yet  it  occupied  her  time  and  thereby  dispelled  that  spirit 
of  loneliness  which  would  unbiddden  so  often  steal  over 
her  during  the  absence  of  her  husband.  And  it  was  such 
a  pleasure  to  take  his  arm  and  stroll  over  the  grassy  lawn 
and  sit  beneath  the  wide-spreading  boughs  of  the  majestic 
oaks,  or  pluck  the  beautiful  flowers  ;  thus  they  spent  many 
pleasant  hours  together.  The  people  of  Decatur  were 
highly  cultured  as  well  as  neighborly,  and  it  was  but  a 
short  while  before  Dr.  C.  and  his  wife  could  number  many 


OR   SOUTHERN   LIFE   DURING   THE   WAR.  9 

of  the  select  families  among  their  best  friends,  and  their 
exchange  of  visits  were  mutually  enjoyable.  After  a  resi- 
dence of  a  year  their  little  home  was  destined  no  longer 
to  be  lonesome,  for  a  bright  little  blue-eyed  rosy-cheeked 
boy  came  as  a  blessing  to  their  household  and  to  lay  claim 
to  the  attention  of  the  fond  mother,  whose  joy  was  now  in- 
expressible. This  little  fellow,  as  time  passed  on,  began  to 
walk  and  prattle,  and  he  was  named  John  C.,  in  honor  of 
a  relative,  one  of  the  South's  greatest  statesmen.  Little 
John  was  not  long  to  be  left  without  playmates,  for  two 
lovely  little  twin  sisters,  Georgia  and  Carolina,  came  to 
bring  more  happiness  to  the  household.  And  as  the  years 
passed  by  the  following  girls  and  boys  were  added  to  the 
family:  Virginia,  Indiana,  Missouri,  Louisiana,  Florida, 
Edward,  Pickens,  and  two  daughters  who  died  in  infancy. 
Louisiana  also  died  while  a  baby;  the  living  children  all 
grew  up  to  be  handsome  and  intelligent  men  and  women. 
When  John  C.  reached  man's  estate  there  were  but  few 
men  in  the  State  who  could  compare  with  him,  for  he  was 
of  a  tall  and  commanding  figure,  and  also  intellectually 
gifted,  and  as  soon  as  he  acquired  his  collegiate  and  medi- 
cal education  he  moved  to  Lee  county,  Georgia,  and  com- 
menced the  practice  of  medicine  under  most  favorable  con- 
ditions; but  when  in  the  zenith  of  his  practice  he  was 
stricken  with  a  critical  tumor,  and  as  there  were  none  but 
ignorant  doctors  attending  him,  he  succumbed  to  the  dis- 
ease and  passed  from  this  earth  to  the  realms  above.  This 
was  the  first  great  sorrow  the  doctor's  family  had  ever 


10  ECHOES  FROM  THE  BATTLEFIELD 

known,  and,  if  possible,  was  greatly  magnified,  for  they 
were  not  permitted  to  attend  his  wants  and  bestow 
that  watchful  care  which  parents  only  can  bestow  upon  a 
child,  nor  close  his  eyes  at  death.  He  had  kind  friends  to 
attend  his  wants,  but  they  could  not  take  the  place  of  lov- 
iug  parents.  But  the  doctor's  family  were  not  permitted 
to  grieve  alone,  for  there  were  no  hearts  who  felt  his  loss 
more  keely  than  the  loving  ones  of  the  two  faithful  col- 
ored servants,  Aunt  Ellen  and  Uncle  John,  and  freely 
their  tears  mingled  with  those  of  his  sorrowing  parents. 


OR   SOUTHERN   LIFE   DURING   THE    WAR.  11 


CHAPTER  IV. 

Soon  after  the  death  of  John  C.,  the  doctor  moved  with 
his  small  family  to  the  little  village  of  Atlanta,  six  miles 
northwest  of  Decatur,  where  he  lived  for  many  years,  to 
watch  its  marvelous  growth  from  a  village  to  a  very  im- 
portant city.  He  lived  to  behold  the  lighted  torches  of 
Gen.  Wm.  T.  Sherman  applied  to  its  houses,  from  which 
the  fiery  flames  leaped  high  in  air,  roaring  and  crackling 
until  their  venomous  work  of  destruction  was  complete,  and 
nothing  was  left  but  heaps  of  blackened  ruins  to  mark  the 
spot  where  the  proud  little  city  once  stood.  The  doctor 
moved  to  Atlanta  in  the  early  fifties,  and  in  1860  he  resi- 
ded in  the  southern  portion  of  the  city  in  a  well-appointed 
two-story  house,  containing  a  tall  basement,  situated  on  a 
beautiful  two-acre  lot,  on  which  was  a  fine  orchard,  vine- 
yard and  garden  spot,  barn,  smoke-house,  servants'  house, 
and  beautiful  flower  yard.  The  barn  contained  its  horses 
and  cows,  the  fowl  house  was  well  filled  with  poultry,  and 
the  servants'  house  was  occupied  by  a  sufficient  number  of 
negroes  to  keep  the  place  in  perfect  condition.  The  orchard 
was  a  prolific  producer  of  every  kind  of  fruit  known  to 
this  section  of  the  South;  even  the  almond  tree  blossomed 
and  matured  its  fruit,  and  the  garden  products  were  varied 
and  plentiful,  giving  the  family  a  supply  of  the  most  choice 
vegetables  in  their  season.  At  this  particular  period  in 
their  lives  Doctor  C.  and  family  had  nothing  to  wish  for, 


12  ECHOES  FROM  THE  BATTLEFIELD 

surrounded  as  they  were  by  every  comfort,  as  well  as  that 
greatest  of  blessings  health,  coupled  with  a  large,  growing, 
and  lucrative  practice,  which  the  doctor  was  daily  receiv- 
ing; and  in  addition  every  member  of  his  family,  with  the 
exception  of  Virginia  who  moved  to  New  Jersey  at  the 
time  of  her  marriage,  and  Missouri  who  had  but  recently 
married  and  lived  quite  near  them,  was  sheltered  beneath 
the  one  roof,  including  Carolina,  now  a  widow,  who  mar- 
ried in  1848,  and  her  only  child,  a  little  boy  five  years  of 
age.  But  during  the  year  of  1860  the  whole  country  was 
greatly  agitated,  and  excitement  was  at  its  highest  pitch. 
Congressmen  and  senators,  as  well  as  the  politicians  of  each 
State,  as  it  now  seems,  were  striving  to  create  the  senti- 
ment of  discord  and  hatred  of  one  section  for  the  other. 
Slave-holding  and  States'  rights  were  the  principal  questions 
for  discussion.  The  South  strongly  advocated  both,  while 
the  North  as  firmly  opposed  them,  and  the  discussions  from 
day  to  day  grew  warmer  and  more  intense,  and  bitter  feel- 
ings were  thus  engendered  to  such  an  extent,  that  the 
South  felt  that  rather  than  engage  in  a  constant  quarrel, 
it  would  be  better  to  leave  the  house  of  its  fathers  and 
dwell  in  peace  alone  ;  but  the  North  took  a  different  view 
of  the  situation  and  desired  the  South  to  remain  in  the  old 
homestead,  which  would  have  been  better  ;  but  the  hot 
blood  of  the  South  had  been  thoroughly  stirrea  up,  and 
they  had  determined  to  secede  from  the  Union  and  form  a 
confederacy  of  their  own.  Doctor  C.,  who  was  a  man  of 
strong  political  opinions  and  was  very  aggressive  in  any 


OR   SOUTHERN   LIFE   DURING   THE   WAR.  13 

cause  he  chose  to  espouse,  was  a  Unionist,  and  strongly 
opposed  the  dissolution  of  the  Union,  but  was  greatly  in 
the  minority,  as  a  majority  of  his  friends  and  most  of  his 
relatives  were  extreme  secessionists.  He  did  not  attempt  to 
conceal  his  views,  but  on  the  contrary  was  continually  ad- 
vocating his  cause  with  much  vigor;  so  much  so,  that  an 
editor  of  a  leading  paper,  who  differed  with  him  politically, 
yet  at  the  same  time  was  his  true  friend  under  all  circum- 
stances, urged  him  to  keep  quiet,  as  he  had  heard  mutter- 
ings  and  threats  which  might  land  him  in  prison;  but  to 
all  this  the  doctor  bade  defiance,  as  he  did  on  all  occasions 
when  he  felt  deep  conviction. 


14  ECHOES  FROM  THE  BATTLEFIELD 


CHAPTER  V. 

Soon  after  this,  first  one,  and  then  another  of  the  South- 
ern States  seceded,  until  at  last  his  own  State  joined  the 
alliance,  all  of  which  was  displeasing  to  him.  These  States 
soon  formed  a  compact  known  as  the  Confederate  States 
of  America.  No  sooner  had  this  been  accomplished  than 
the  bombardment  of  Fort  Sumter  took  place,  which  ush- 
ered into  existence  one  of  the  most  terrible  and  destructive 
wars  ever  known  to  history, — a  war  in  which  brother  fought 
against  brother,  and  father  was  arrayed  against  son,  and 
continued  for  nearly  four  long  years  ;  nor  did  it  cease  un- 
til it  had  left  the  South  truly  desolate.  The  shrill  blast 
of  the  bugle,  as  it  called  for  men  good  and  true  as  volun- 
teers to  sustain  its  newly  created  government,  did  not  fail, 
as  it  sounded,  to  penetrate  the  peaceful  home  of  Doctor  C., 
where  it  stirred  up  the  warlike  spirit  of  his  two  young 
sons,  Edward  Livingston  and  Pickens  Noble.  Edward  at 
once  hastened  to  obey  the  summons,  and  was  one  among 
the  first  in  his  city  to  enlist  for  military  service,  as  did  also 
a  young  Northern  man,  Robert  Clingan  by  name,  who  had 
lived  with  the  family  of  Doctor  C.  for  more  than  a  year, 
and  was  as  much  attached  to  them  as  if  they  had  been  his 
own  blood  kin.  Pickens  Noble,  the  younger  son,  also 
wanted  to  enlist,  but  as  he  had  not  reached  his  majority, 
he  was  by  the  stern  command  of  his  father  forced  to  re- 
main at  home.  How  those  days  of  the  long  ago,  which  have 


OR   SOUTHERN   LIFE   DURING    THE   WAR.  15 

slumbered  within  the  walls  of  my  memory  for  more  than 
thirty-five  years,  flash  forth  as  brightly  before  my  vision 
as  if  they  were  but  yesterday.  And  in  my  fancy  I  can  hear 
the  drums  beating  and  the  bands  playing,  and  see  the 
glistening  bayonets  gleaming  as  they  are  upheld  by  men 
clad  in  bright  uniforms,  whose  plumes  are  waving  as  they 
begin  the  march  of  years.  And  amid  all  that  brave  host 
of  soldiers,  as  they  go  forth  to  battle  for  jthe  right,  none 
seem  more  manly  or  soldierly  in  their  bearing  than  Ed- 
ward Livingston  and  his  friend  Robert.  How  well  I  re- 
member the  parting  scene  as  they  came  in  the  house  to  say 
good-bye  ;  father,  mother,  sisters,  and  brother  are  all  assem- 
bled, but  this  assemblage  does  not  seem  the  joyous  one  of 
months  ago.  A  dreadful  feeling  of  unrest,  a  shadow  of  sad- 
ness is  written  on  the  countenance  of  each  as  they  say 
good-bye  amid  caresses  and  tears  ;  but  God  alone  can  only 
know  the  heartaches  of  the  fond  mother  as  she  showers 
kiss  after  kiss  upon  his  cheek  and  brow  and  enfolds  him 
in  her  loving  embrace ;  as  she  feels  it  may  be  for  years,  and 
it  may  be  forever,  the  separation.  But  one  comforting 
thought  to  calm  her  drooping  spirit  appears,  and  that  is 
that  God  in  his  tender  mercy  may,  when  the  cruel  war  is 
over,  restore  him  to  her  sheltering  arms  once  more ;  and 
then  there  comes  to  her  a  spirit  of  pride,  when  she  thinks 
of  him  as  a  gallant  soldier  son  loyal  to  a  righteous  cause, 
for  which  all  are  praying  to  succeed.  He  had  gone  forth 
to  battle,  and  if  needs  be,  to  die  in  defense  of  his  country. 
Not  long  after  his  departure  the  news  of  battles  in  which 


16  ECHOES  FROM  THE  BATTLEFIELD 

he  was  engaged  came  from  the  front  ;  his  name  was  to  be 
found  neither  among  the  dead,  dying,  wounded,  or  captur- 
ed, which  brought  to  his  loved  ones  a  feeling  of  joy.  For 
nearly  two  years  Edward  with  his  infantry  command  was 
to  be  found  in  the  thickest  of  many  hard-fought  battles, 
but  at  length  the  term  of  their  enlistment  drew  to  a  close, 
and  they  were  mustered  out  of  service,  each  soldier  return- 
ing to  his  own  home.  Edward  was  truly  glad  to  have  the 
opportunity  of  returning  once  more  to  his  dear  old  home, 
where  the  fond  parents,  sisters,  and  brother  were  with  out- 
stretched arms  anxiously  awaiting  his  arrival;  nor  did  they 
have  long  to  wait,  for  Edward  was  equally  as  desirous  of 
beholding  their  dear  faces  once  more  as  they  were  to  see 
his.  While  he  was  quite  a  long  distance  from  home  when 
discharged,  yet  it  took  him  but  a  short  time,  as  he  hasten- 
ed with  all  possible  speed  to  reach  home.  Once  home  he 
was  for  many  days  the  idol  of  the  household,  and  the  grand 
reception  given  him  was  but  a  gentle  reminder  of  the 
welcome  reception  given  the  prodigal  son.  For  many  days 
he  was  the  center  of  attraction  at  home  and  abroad,  for 
the  people  never  grew  tired  of  listening  to  this  soldier 
boy  as  he  related  his  thrilling  experiences  when  on  the  red 
fields  of  carnage,  his  hair-breadth  escapes  when  so  nearly 
captured,  the  many  ghastly  sights  he  saw ;  and  the  acts  of 
bravery  and  cowardice  displayed  by  men  when  engaged  in 
battle. 

His  stay  at  home  was  destined  to  be  of  but  short  dura- 
tion, for  the  government  had  issued  another  call  for  vol- 


OR   SOUTHERN    LIFE   DURING    THE   WAR.  17 

unteers,  as  the  array  had  been  largely  depleted,  occasioned 
by  the  loss  of  men  whose  terms  of  enlistment  had  expired, 
as  well  as  the  many  who  were  killed  in  battle.  An  im- 
mense number  of  troops  were  now  greatly  desired  to  enable 
the  South  in  some  measure  to  compete  in  numerical  strength 
with  the  large  and  rapidly  increasing  power  of  the  Union 
army.  When  the  call  came  Edward  and  Robert  were  not  long 
in  deciding  to  re-enlist  for  two  years  longer.  But  as  they  had 
given  the  infantry  their  services  in  the  past,  they  had  now 
decided  to  enter  the  cavalry  branch  of  the  service;  but 
this  time  these  two  young  men  were  to  have  company,  for 
young  Pickens  Noble,  who  had  by  this  time  nearly  reached 
his  majority,  had  decided  to  enter  the  service.  His  father, 
as  on  the  former  occasion,  vigorously  protested,  but  Pick- 
ens  firmly  insisted  on  going  into  service;  he  informed  his 
father  that  all  young  men  who  remained  at  home  would  be 
termed  cowards,  and  that  he  would  rather  fill  an  honorable 
soldier's  grave  than  be  branded  as  a  coward.  His  determined 
argument  finally  gained  for  him  the  consent  of  his  father, 
and  he,  Edward  and  Robert  joined  Company  B,  Fulton 
Dragoons,  a  cavalry  company  organized  in  their  city.  Ed- 
ward was  an  accomplished  musician  and  acted  as  bugler  for 
his  company,  which  was  drilling,  perfecting  itself  in  the  use 
of  cavalry  arms;  and  when  they  were  sufficiently  well 
drilled  they  were  ordered  to  go  to  the  front  and  report  for 
duty.  On  the  morning  of  the  departure  it  would  be  hard 
to  depict  a  sadder  scene ;  the  leave-taking  two  years  before 

2  si 


18  ECHOES  FROM  THE  BATTLEFIELD 

was  nothing  to  compare  with  it,  for  at  that  time  only  one 
of  the  boys  was  to  go,  but  now  the  youngest  and  last  was 
to  be  sacrificed  on  the  altar  of  his  country.  But  tears 
could  not  continue  to  forever  flow;  why  should  they?  Was 
there  not  a  comforting  ray  of  hope  remaining  from  the  ex- 
periences of  the  two  who  had  seen  hard  service  in  the  past, 
going  through  and  coming  out  of  many  hard-fought  bat- 
tles unscathed — not  even  a  scratch  or  scar  to  tell  of  the 
many  hardships  they  had  endured?  The  boys  were  soon 
assigned  to  serve  under  that  gallant  and  gentlemanly  South- 
ern soldier,  General  Wade  Hampton,  then  stationed  in 
Virginia,  whose  command  achieved  so  much  praise  for 
their  gallantry  during  the  latter  two  years  of  the  strug- 
gle between  the  States.  It  was  during  this  campaign 
that  the  boys  were  sorely  tried,  for  the  marches  were  ex- 
ceedingly long  and  tiresome,  and  the  duties  severely  hard 
as  well  as  dangerous.  Battles  were  a  very  frequent  occur- 
rence, and  during  one  of  the  most  terrible  conflicts  of  the 
war  Edward,  who,  I  have  failed  to  state,  was  a  most  skill- 
ful physician  and  surgeon,  was  placed  in  charge  of  an  am- 
bulance to  drive  over  the  battle-field  and  bring  in  the  se- 
riously wounded  and  give  them  the  much-needed  medical 
attention.  On  this  particular  occasion,  while  driving  his 
ambulance  filled  with  wounded  soldiers,  the  enemy  charged 
the  Confederates  across  the  field  where  the  wounded  sol- 
diers lay.  While  the  rifles  were  raining  their  leaden  hail, 
the  cannonading  was  very  severe,  and  one  of  the  exploding 
shells  had  the  audacity  to  tear  the  greater  portion  of  the  top 


OK   SOUTHERN   LIFE   DURING   THE   WAR.  19 

of  the  ambulance  off  without  injury  to  Dr.  Edward;  but  un- 
fortunately for  him  he  was  taken  prisoner,  but  only  remain- 
ing so  for  a  few  moments,  as  the  Confederates,  in  recharg- 
ing, gave  him  an  opportunity  to  escape,  which  he  quickly 
took,  and  drove  rapidly  onward  to  his  own  troops,  which 
fae  soon  reached  without  even  receiving  a  scratch. 


20  ECHOES  FROM  THE  BATTLEFIELD 


CHAPTER  VI. 

Pickens  Noble  was  a  tall,  strikingly  handsome  young 
man,  well-formed,  with  large  gray  eagle  eyes,  and  as  brave 
as  a  lion ;  but  camp  life  had  not  seemed  to  agree  with  him 
from  the  very  first.  His  brother  Edward  could  with  his 
practiced  eye  discern  that  some  serious  disease  was  threat- 
ening to  take  away  his  life,  and  so  solicitous  was  he  for 
Pickens's  welfare  that  he  advised  him  to  get  a  furlough,  go 
home  and  take  a  much-needed  rest ;  where,  by  the  kindly 
attention  of  their  dear  mother  and  medical  treatment  of 
their  father,  he  had  hopes  of  his  complete  recovery.  To  all 
the  entreaties  of  Edward  he  kindly  but  firmly  turned  a 
deaf  ear;  he  flattered  himself  into  believing  that  he  did 
not  feel  so  badly  as  might  be  supposed;  and  while  he  would 
be  glad  of  the  privilege  of  returning  to  the  loved  ones  at 
home,  yet  as  a  true  soldier  he  felt  that  his  duty  bade  him 

stay  at  his  post  as  long  as  he  was  permitted  to  sit  in  his 

i 
saddle  or  raise  a  carbine  to  his  shoulder  in  defense  of  his 

country ;  for  nothing  but  bravery  fired  by  an  ambition  to 
perform  mighty  deeds  could  have  led  him  into  such  a  serious 
error.  He  gradually  but  surely  faded  away,  his  strength 
failed,  his  vision  grew  dim,  his  cheeks  were  hollow,  and 
his  attenuated  frame  told  only  too  truly  of  the  near  ap- 
proach of  that  unchecked  conqueror  who  was  now  on  the 
way  to  transform  a  soldier  of  Hampton's  Legion  to  a  sol- 
dier of  the  cross.  The  well-trained  eye  of  Edward  had  not 


OR    SOUTHERN    LIFE    DURING    THE   WAR.  21 

been  deceived,  for  Pickens  grew  rapidly  worse  from  day  to 
day;  he  was  removed  from  camp  by  his  brother  to  the 
home  of  a  kind  Christian  Virginia  family,  where,  by  the 
mother  and  daughter  of  that  household,  he  was  most  faith- 
fully watched,  nursed  and  waited  upon  as  tenderly  as  if  he 
had  been  a  son  and  brother,  but  to  no  saving  purpose,  for 
hard  riding  and  severe  exposure  had  brought  on  a  disease 
from  which  he  could  never  recover.  Only  a  few  more  days 
of  weariness,  and  the  tired  body  of  our  soldier  boy  who 
had  worn  a  jacket  of  gray  had  passed  away,  and  his  spirit 
was  to  give  answer  to  the  roll-call  of  Heaven,  where  white 
robes  are  gladly  given  in  exchange  for  gray. 


THE  FADED  GRAY  JACKET. 


Fold  it  up  carefully,  and  lay  it  aside ; 
Tenderly  touch  it,  look  on  it  with  pride, 
For  dear  must  it  be  to  our  hearts  evermore, 
The  jacket  of  gray  our  loved  soldier-boy  wore, 


Can  we  ever  forget  when  he  joined  the  brave  band, 
Who  rose  in  defense  of  our  dear  Southern  land, 
And  in  his  bright  youth  hurried  on  to  the  fray? 
How  proudly  he  donned  it — the  jacket  of  the  gray  ! 


22  ECHOES  FROM  THE  BATTLEFIELD 

3 

His  fond  mother  blessed  him,  and  looked  up  above, 
Commending  to  Heaven  the  child  of  her  love ; 
What  anguish  was  her's  mortal  tongue  cannot  say, 
When  he  passed  from  her  sight  in  the  jacket  of  gray  I 

4 

But  her  country  had  called,  and  she  could  not  repine, 
Though  costly  the  sacrifice  placed  on  its  shrine ; 
Her  heart's  dearest  hopes  on  its  altar  she'd  lay, 
When  she  sent  out  her  boy  in  the  jacket  of  gray. 

5 

Months  passed,  and  war's  thunders  rolled  over  the  land ; 
Unsheathed  was  the  sword  and  lighted  the  brand ; 
We  heard  in  the  distance  the  sounds  of  the  fray, 
And  prayed  for  our  boy  in  the  jacket  of  gray. 

6 

All  vain,  all  in  vain,  were  our  prayers  and  our  tears; 
The  glad  shout  of  victory  rang  in  our  ears ; 
But  our  treasured  one  on  the  red  battle-field  lay, 
While  the  life-blood  oozed  out  on  the  jacket  of  gray. 

7 

His  young  comrades  found  him,  and  tenderly  bore 
His  cold,  lifeless  form  to  his  home  by  the  shore ; 
Oh !  dark  were  our  hearts  on  that  terrible  day, 
When  we  saw  our  dead  boy  in  the  jacket  of  gray. 


OR    SOUTHERN   LIFE    DURING    THE   WAR.  23 

8 

Ah  !  spotted,  and  tattered,  and  stained  now  with  gore, 

Was  the  garment  which  once  he  so  proudly  wore ; 

We  bitterly  wept  as  we  took  it  away, 

And  replaced  with  death's  white  robe — the  jacket  of  gray. 


We  laid  him  to  rest,  in  his  cold,  narrow  bed, 
And  'graved  on  the  marble  we  placed  o'er  his  head, 
As  the  proudest  tribute  our  sad  hearts  could  pay, 
"  He  never  disgraced  the  jacket  of  gray." 

10 

Then  fold  it  up  carefully,  lay  it  aside, 
Tenderly  touch  it,  look  on  it  with  pride — 
For  dear  to  our  hearts  must  it  be  evermore, 
The  Jacket  of  Gray  our  loved  soldier-boy  wore. 

CAROLINE  A.  BALL, 

Of  Charleston,  S.  C. 


24  ECHOES  FROM  THE  BATTLEFIELD 


CHAPTER  VII. 

But  let  digression  here  take  place,  and  with  our  thoughts 
retrace  so  much  of  our  story  as  shall  carry  us  back  to  the 
place  where  Pickens  had  resolved  to  enter  the  army. 
While  down  in  the  city  a  few  days  before  his  departure  he 
visited  one  of  his  merchant  friends  at  his  store,  and  while 
there  noticed  some  duck  eggs,  and  expressed  a  wish  to  take 
a  few  home  and  have  his  mother  set  them  under  a  hen,  and 
should  they  hatch  he  felt  sure  they  would  be  a  great  pleas- 
ure to  her,  as  she  was  fond  of  raising  all  kinds  of  fowls. 
His  friend  declined  to  receive  any  pay  for  them,  but  kindly 
presented  them  to  him;  he  carried  them  home  and  gave 
them  to  his  mother,  who  at  once  set  them  under  a  hen,  and 
as  a  result  two  little  ducks,  a  pair,  were  hatched,  but  not 
until  Pickens  was  many  miles  away.  The  ducks  grew 
nicely,  and  it  was  a  custom  of  Mrs.  C.,once  or  twice  weekly, 
in  company  with  her  little  grandson,  to  take  the  ducks 
down  into  the  orchard  and  dig  earthworms  for  them,  as 
they  were  very  fond  of  them.  The  ducks  were  very  tame 
and  would  readily  follow  her  from  the  yard  to  the  orchard 
in  quest  of  their  favorite  food.  On  one  of  the  usual  for- 
aging expeditions  Mrs.  C.,  accompanied  by  her  grandson 
and  the  ducks,  went  to  the  orchard,  and  with  a  hoe  began 
to  dig  up  the  worms.  While  thus  engaged  one  of  the  ducks 
who  seemed  more  greedy  than  the  other,  unfortunately 
shoved  its  bill  down  just  as  the  hoe  in  the  hands  of  Mrs. 


OR    SOUTHERN    LIFE    DURING    THE    WAR.  25 

C.,  descended;  it  struck  off  one  corner  of  the  duck's  beak. 
This  little  accident,  while  entirely  unavoidable,  brought 
to  the  eyes  of  both,  tears  of  genuine  sorrow,  for  as  pets 
they  had  loved  them  long  and  truly;  but  the  hurt  did  not 
seem  to  disturb  the  duck  for  any  considerable  time,  for  it 
was  soon  its  happy  self  again,  devouring  worms  with  seem- 
ingly as  much  pleasure  as  before,  but  with  perhaps  a  little 
less  greed,  as  it  seemed  to  have  learned  its  lesson.  While 
waddling  around  the  yard  the  mate  of  this  duck,  soon  after 
the  accident,  was  observed  to  suddenly  spring  into  the  air 
and  fall  back  dead. 

Strange  as  it  may  seem  to  relate,  in  a  few  days  there 
came  by  letter  an  announcement  of  Pickens's  death,  and 
from  a  comparison  of  dates  it  was  found  that  about  the  time 
the  accident  occurred  to  the  first  duck  Pickens  was  taken 
seriously  sick,  and  passed  away  on  the  same  day  that  the 
other  duck  died.  He  now  sweetly  sleeps  his  last  long  sleep 
'neath  the  spreading  holly  trees  on  the  grassy  slope  of  the 
soldiers'  plat,  among  many  of  his  comrades  who  had  given 
up  their  lives  in  defense  of  a  common  cause,  in  that  most 
beautiful  of  cemeteries,  Hollywood,  situated  in  one  of  the 
most  beautiful  of  Southern  cities,  Richmond,  Virginia. 
The  Lord  had  fora  second  time  with  His  own  hand  wielded 
the  chastening  rod  of  correction,  which  fell  upon  the  fam- 
ily with  much  greater  force,  if  possible,  than  the  former. 
He  had  removed  from  them  by  that  fell-destroying  angel 
the  youngest  of  their  boys,  a  tall,  handsome,  manly  young 
fellow,  just  budding  into  a  glorious  manhood.  But  even 


26  ECHOES  FROM  THE  BATTLEFIELD 

such  depths  of  grief  are  not  eternal.  It  runs  its  course  un- 
til its  fountains  of  tears  become  exhausted  and  the  mourn- 
ers are  aroused  to  a  consciousness  of  the  justice  and  mercy 
of  that  infinite,  unchangeable  and  eternal  Being  who  doeth 
all  things  well,  and  the  silver  lining  to  the  darkened 
clouds  which  as  a  pall  of  sorrow  hung  above  them  for  a 
season  appears  and  the  brigh  visions  of  a  glorious  and  re- 
united family  in  that  land  beyond  the  skies,  where  partings 
are  no  more  becomes  to  them  a  fixed  reality,  and  their 
lives  are  now  spent  in  making  preparations  for  that  jour- 
ney which  shall  bring  them  at  its  close,  eternal  rest. 


OR    SOUTHERN   LIFE   DURING    THE   WAR.  27 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

We  will  now  retrace  our  steps  to  the  army  of  Virginia^ 
where  we  find  our  Northern  friend  Robert  Clingan  of  Con- 
necticut doing  excellent  service.  His  reason  for  first  com- 
ing South  was  to  be  freed  from  the  galling  yoke  of  bond- 
age which  his  unkind  step-father  was,  against  his  will,  forc- 
ing him  to  wear.  And  it  was  while  he  was  working  with 
the  Southern  Express  Company  that  he  became  acquainted 
with  Doctor  C.  and  his  sons.  To  Pickens  theyounger  he  was 
devotedly  attached,  and  when  he  unfortunately  lost  his 
position  he  removed  to  the  doctor's  house,  where  he  was 
treated  as  a  son  and  brother.  He  made  himself  very  useful 
about  the  home,  for  life  would  have  been  burdensome  to 
him  had  he  not  have  been  allowed  the  privilege  of  doing 
such  things  about  the  place  as  he  thought  necessary.  He 
was  but  a  few  years  older  than  Pickens,  and  was  in  stature 
of  a  medium  height,  stoutly  knit  frame,  broad  shoulders, 
a  large,  shapely  head  containing  a  face  which  could  not  be 
regarded  as  handsome,  but  one  that  bore  the  imprint  of 
firmness  combined  with  a  sparkle  of  kindliness,  which  was 
almost  equal  to  that  of  a  woman  ;  and  his  manner  was  one 
of  gentleness,  a  trait  that  made  for  him  any  number  of 
friends.  Such  a  man  was  he  when  he  donned  his  jacket  of 
gray  and  went  forth  to  battle  for  the  homes  and  firesides 
of  his  adopted  country — the  one  in  which  he  had  spent 
the  most  happy  moments  of  his  life,  and  for  which  he  now 


28  ECHOES  FROM  THE  BATTLEFIELD 

desired  to  fight,  and  if  needs  be  die.  The  ties  that  bound 
him  in  brotherly  affection  to  Pickens  and  Edward  could 
not  have  been  any  stronger  had  they  in  truth  been 
own  brothers.  As  a  soldier  no  man  of  Southern  birth  or 
parentage  ever  displayed  more  loyalty  to  its  cause,  or  valor 
on  its  battle-fields,  than  this  Northern  born  but  Southern 
hero.  He  commanded  the  confidence  and  love  of  the  men  of 
his  company,  and  the  unbounded  respect  of  its  officers.  A 
few  months  after  the  death  of  Pickens,  Robert  was  selected 
by  his  captain  as  a  courier  to  transmit  through  a  very 
dangerous  portion  of  the  line  an  important  message  to  a 
superior  officer.  Mounted  on  a  noble  steed  he  dashed  rap- 
idly off  amid  a  rain  of  Minie-balls  and  shells,  and  had 
passed  almost  through  unharmed,  when  he  spied  the  officer 
for  whom  he  was  looking,  and  at  almost  the  same  moment 
he  observed  him  to  reel  and  fall  from  his  horse  desperately 
wounded  by  an  exploding  shell.  He  quickly  dismounted  by 
the  side  of  the  officer,  and  tenderly  lifted  him  up  and  placed 
him  against  and  behind  a  tree  to  insure  greater  safety  ;  but 
scarcely  had  he  completed  his  mission  when  a  Minie-ball 
fired  from  the  enemies'  rifle  struck  him  a  center  shot  in  his 
forehead,  producing  a  ghastly  wound,  which  brought  to  an 
untimely  close  the  life  of  one  of  the  South's  most  deserving 
and  daring  heroes.  When  the  news  of  his  sad  ending  reached 
the  home  of  his  dear  Southern  friends,  again  tears  of  gen- 
uine sorrow  began  to  flow  and  open  afresh  the  bleeding 
wounds  of  those  doubly  stricken  hearts.  He  now  peace- 
fully sleeps  on  one  of  Virginia's  noted  battle-fields,  where 


OR   SOUTHERN   LIFE   DURING   THE   WAR.  29 

the  noise  and  confusion  of  battle  can  no  longer  disturb, 
but  where  the  white-winged  angel  of  peace  shall  hover 
over  until  that  glorious  day  cometh  when  the  dead  shall 
be  raised  and  life  eternal  begins. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

/ 

Thus  while  these  events  were  transpiring  in  the  camps 
of  the  army  of  Northern  Virginia,  the  great  army  of  the 
Tennessee  was  pressing  steadily  forward  under  command 
of  that  skillful  Union  officer  Gen.  Wm.  T.  Sherman,  who 
was  using  every  means  within  his  power  to  reach  the  South- 
ern seacoast.  He  had  passed  through  Chattanooga,  Ten- 
nessee, and  was  planning  to  make  the  master  stroke  of  all 
his  achievements.  Atlanta  was  to  him  the  apple  of  his  eye, 
a  place  long  desired  ;  for,  from  its  situation  as  a  railroad 
center,  it  was  the  key  which,  once  in  his  possession  and 
held,  would  unlock  the  entire  Southern  section  and  place 
it  at  his  disposal.  Doctor  C.  was  at  this  time  largely  in- 
terested in  one  of  the  principal  drug  stores  of  the  city,  but 
devoted  but  little  of  his  time  to  it  until  he  was  forced  to, 
by  the  call  made  on  his  partner  and  clerks  to  enter  the 
army.  At  this  time  none  but  professional  men,  boys  under 
sixteen,  and  men  over  sixty  were  exempt  from  military 
duty ;  therefore  he  was  compelled  to  employ  an  old  and  al- 
most broken-down  gentleman  to  manage,  while  the  remain- 
der of  his  force  consisted  of  very  young  boys.  The  daily 
sales  were  immense  and  money  plentiful,  but  prices  were 
exceedingly  high,  and  everybody  seemed  to  have  an  abun- 
dance of  money.  The  writer  does  not  recollect  the  price 
of  drugs  at  that  time,  but  he  was  like  most  children,  ex- 
ceedingly fond  of  candy,  and  butter-scotch  was  one  of 


OR   SOUTHERN   LIFE    DURING    THE    WAR.  31 

his  favorites,  for  which  he  then  paid  the  sum  of  twenty- 
five  cents  in  Confederate  shinplasters  and  considered  it 
cheap ;  while  now  the  same  article  could  be  purchased  for 
a  penny,  yet  money  was  so  much  more  plentiful  then  than 
now,  that  the  writer  could  then  afford  to  buy  more  of  it. 
Gen.  Sherman  commanding  the  Union  forces,  with  an  army 
consisting  of  one  hundred  thousand  soldiers,  was  steadily 
pressing  forward,  while  Gen.  Joseph  E.  Johnston,  command- 
er of  the  Confederate  forces,  with  an  army  containing  per- 
haps forty-five  thousand  men,  was  slowly  falling  back  to- 
wards Atlanta,  and  had  on  the  9th  of  July  reached  a  point 
about  nine  miles  from  Atlanta  on  this  side  of  the  Chatta- 
hoochee  river.  About  five  days  later  the  bombardment  of 
the  city  commenced  in  earnest,  and  an  incessant  firing  was 
kept  up  until  September  1st.  The  first  intimation  the  doc- 
tor's family  received  was  through  one  of  his  daughters,  but  it 
was  not  very  cordially  received  by  her.  She  had  stepped  out 
into  the  street  to  see  and  minister  to  the  wants  of  a  wounded 
Confederate  soldier  who  was  lying  in  an  ambulance  which 
had  stopped  not  many  feet  from  their  frontdoor.  A  lady 
neighbor  was  with  her,  and  while  they  were  engaged  in  at- 
tending to  his  wants,  they  heard  the  report  of  cannons  in 
the  distance ;  but  when,  a  few  seconds  later,  a  shell  exploded 
almost  immediately  over  their  heads,  they  at  once  sought 
the  shelter  of  their  homes,  where  they  remained  terrified, 
for  each  report  of  a  distant  cannon  brought  to  them  fears 
of  a  speedy  and  terrible  death.  From  this  time  to  the  ces- 
sation of  firing  the  female  portion  of  his  family  rarely 


32  ECHOES  FROM  THE  BATTLEFIELD 

ventured  out  of  the  house,  and  it  was  only  at  such  times 
when  there  was  seemingly  a  lull  for  a  few  moments.  Some- 
times when  the  firing  was  exceedingly  heavy  the  family 
would  forsake  the  main  house  and  enter  the  cellar  where 
they  would  feel  a  little  safer.  Strange  to  say,  while  shells 
were  constantly  exploding  directly  over  and  in  close  prox- 
imity to  the  house,  yet  it  remained  untouched  during  the 
siege.  Many  fell  in  various  portions  of  the  yard ;  one 
among  the  first  was  seen  to  penetrate  the  ground  very  near 
to  the  well.  A  negro  went  out  and  dug  it  up  after  consider- 
able labor,  for  it  had  embedded  itself  fully  two  feet  in  mother 
earth,  and  then  taking  it  up,  carried  it  into  the  house  to  ex- 
hibit ;  but  it  chanced  to  be  one  of  the  long,  heavy  kind  of 
percussion  shells,  and  when  the  family  spied  the  cap  on  the 
end,  and  knew  it  had  not  been  exploded,  they  fled  in  mor- 
tal terror  from  it.  She  was  ordered  to  take  it  out  and  place 
it  to  one  side  of  the  garden  path  near  the  grape  arbor, 
where  it  remained  for  a  number  of  years  as  a  curiosity. 
Their  little  grandson  and  his  cousin,  who  frequently  called  to 
see  him,  became  so  used  to  the  bombardment  that  they  would 
not  hesitate  to  climb  to  the  top  of  the  grape  arbor  and 
gather  baskets  of  grapes.  This  boy  would  also  frequently 
go  from  his  home  to  the  store  with  the  old  gentleman 
manager,  and  when  they  would  hear  the  report  of  a  can- 
non in  the  distance,  they  would  at  once  drop  down  behind 
the  base  of  some  friendly  fence  or  stone  wall,  then  rise  and 
go  forward  until  startled  by  another  report,  and  in  this 
manner  reach  the  store.  Shells  were  frequently  exploding 


OR    SOUTHERN    LIFE    DURING    THE    WAR.  33 

in  the  main  business  portion  of  the  city,  and  when  they 
would  come  in  contact  with  the  hard  paving  stones  there 
was  no  calculating  what  course  they  would  take.  Both  sol- 
diers and  citizens  were  maimed  and  killed  in  the  streets  almost 
daily.  Most  of  the  citizens  constructed  on  their  premises 
what  were  known  as  bombproofs,  which  were  holes  dug  in 
the  earth  eight  or  ten  feet  deep,  and  of  a  desirable  width 
and  length  to  suit  the  builder,  covered  overhead  with  heavy 
beams,  which  contained  a  covering  of  boards  or  tin  to  keep 
out  the  rain,  and  then  covered  with  earth  from  three  to  five 
feet  deep.  The  entrance  to  the  small  door  was  dug  out  in 
the  shape  of  the  letter  L,  and  many  persons'  lives  were  pre- 
served by  using  them  as  a  shield.  Night  and  day  for  more 
than  six  weeks  shells  were  constantly  being  thrown  into 
the  city,  adding  to  the  death-rate  daily,  and  setting  fire 
often  to  its  houses,  which  kept  the  firemen  very  busy  ex- 
tinguishing the  flames.  There  was  certainly  a  strange  fasci- 
nation connected  with  the  nightly  bombardment,  for  there 
could  be  seen  at  almost  any  time  numbers  of  lighted  shells, 
which  brightly  illuminated  the  sky  with  their  fiery  trails,  as 
they  sped  onward  on  their  mission  of  death  and  destruction. 
There  were  many  stone  and  brick  houses  situated  on  the 
outskirts  of  the  city,  which  seemed  to  have  been  made  as 
special  targets  for  practice,  which  were  almost  completely 
battered  down  by  the  vicious  shells.  The  citizens,  which 
were  mostly  women  and  children,  were  in  constant  fear  of 
the  city  being  taken  by  the  Federals. 

3  si 


34  ECHOES  FROM  THE  BATTLEFIELD 


CHAPTER  X. 

We  now  return  to  the  home  of  Dr.  C.,  where  we  find 
him  for  the  first  time  since  his  marriage  lying  sick,  caused 
from  drinking  impure  water  on  the  island  of  Skida- 
way,  where  he  had  for  some  time  served  as  surgeon  to 
Colonel  Stiles'  regiment,  ministering  to  the  numerous  sick 
soldiers,  but  was  forced  to  retire  on  account  of  overwork 
and  ill  health.  A  few  nights  preceding  the  evacuation  of 
the  city  a  large  number  of  the  Confederate  forces  were  be- 
ing marched  through  the  city  from  west  to  east,  and  fol- 
lowing close  at  their  heels  came  straggling  bands  of  camp 
followers,  robbers,  wearing  the  garb  of  Confederate  sol- 
diers. The  Union  forces  were  expected  momentarily  to 
take  possession  of  the  city.  The  night  was  cool  and  starry. 
Dr.  C.  and  family  had  retired  early,  but  about  midnight  a 
loud  knocking  was  heard  at  the  back  outer  door.  Mrs.  C.r 
who  was  very  easily  awakened,  heard  the  noise  and  touched 
the  doctor  to  see  if  he  was  awake,  but,  as  she  discovered, 
he  was  asleep,  and  as  he  was  very  sick,  she  did  not  desire 
to  disturb  him,  so  she  quietly  passed  from  her  room  into 
the  rear  one,  at  which  door  the  knocking  was  heard;  she 
crept  cautiously  to  the  door  and  demanded  to  know  who 
was  there.  The  response  came,  "Open  the  door  and  let  us 
in."  She  then  asked  what  was  wanted,  and  the  same 
voices  still  repeated,  "Let  us  in  or  we  will  break  the  door 
down."  As  the  Federals  were  momentarily  expected  and 


OR    SOUTHERN   LIFE   DURING   THE   WAR.  35 

were  greatly  feared,  she  asked  if  they  were  Federals  or 
Confederates.  The  terrible  answer  came,  "Federals,  and 
if  you  do  not  surrender  at  once  we  will  burn  your  house 
down."  The  threats  were  not  very  pleasant  to  her, 
so  she,  not  then  knowing  what  was  best  to  do,  in- 
formed them  that  if  as  gentlemen  they  would  come  to  the 
front  door  she  would  surrender.  In  passing  through  the 
room,  she  spied  a  large  dinner-bell,  which  she  seized  as  she 
passed  into  the  hall,  then  mounted  the  stairway  and  aroused 
her  daughters,  Indiana  and  Carolina,  and  the  little  grand- 
son, who  were  sleeping  in  a  front  room  upstairs.  She,  clad 
only  in  her  night-robes,  opened  the  front  door  upstairs 
which  opened  out  on  a  balcony  which  was  walled  up  on  all 
sides  about  three  feet,  the  tin  roof  of  which  was  deeply  cov- 
ered with  a  cold  dew.  Upon  this  she  stood  barefooted  and 
thinly  clad,  bell  in  hand,  vigorously  ringing  in  hopes  of 
arousing  some  of  their  near  neighbors.  While  she  was 
ringing  the  bell,  her  daughters,  who  were  terror-stricken, 
opened  the  front  windows  and  screamed  at  the  top  of  their 
voices.  Six  or  eight  armed  men  could  be  seen  moving 
around  in  the  front  yard;  the  leader  took  such  a  position 
as  to  enable  him  to  see  and  be  seen  by  Mrs.  C.  He 
commanded  in  a  stern  voice,  "Madame,  stop  ringing  that 
bell,"  but  she  paid  noattention  to  the  villain's  command.  A 
second  time  he  called,  "Madame,  desist  at  once,  or  I  will 
shoot,"  at  the  same  time  bringing  his  rifle  to  his  shoulder  and 
taking  direct  aim  at  her;  but  her  contemptuous  answer  was 
given  by  the  increased  number  of  strokes  of  the  bell  as  it 


36  ECHOES  FROM  THE  BATTLEFIELD 

pealed  forth  on  the  midnight  air.  A  more  heroically  grand 
woman  as  she  stood,  expecting  each  moment  to  be  her  last, 
would  take  the  search-light  of  years  to  discover.  The 
daughters  had  descended  to  the  room  where  the  father  was 
now  not  only  awake  and  up,  but,  sick  as  he  was,  he  had  his 
trusty  rifle  pushed  through  the  window, and  had  a  perfect  aim 
at  the  heart  of  one  of  the  men, and  was  inthe  very  act  of  firing, 
when  his  daughters  stayed  the  hand  that  would  have  sent  the 
villain  face  to  face  with  his  Maker.  His  daughters  pleaded 
with  him  and  insisted  that  if  he  were  a  Federal  and  should 
be  killed  by  him,  that  in  retaliation  they  would  not  spare 
a  member  of  the  family.  By  this  time  one  of  the  neigh- 
bors, Mr.  H.,  was  aroused  and  came  over  to  ascertain  what 
was  the  matter;  he  had  a  pistol  in  his  belt  around  his  waist, 
but  he  was  quickly  commanded  to  surrender^  which  he 
did,  giving  up  his  pistol  and  his  belt  at  the  same  time. 
Soon  after  another  citizen,  who  lived  a  short  distance  be- 
yond, was  passing  by  on  his  way  home,  and  he  met  with  a 
similar  fate,  the  only  difference  being  he  had  no  weapons 
to  lose.  The  majority  of  the  plunderers  were  then  in  the 
streets,  where  they  actually  bade  the  two  citizens  to  march 
ten  paces  to  the  rear,  which  was  obeyed  with  great  fear, 
for,  in  army  language,  its  meaning  was  to  be  shot.  Soon 
after  a  belated  home-guard,  known  as  a  militiaman,  chanced 
to  be  passing  by ;  he  was  halted  and  closely  questioned, 
and  stated  that  he  belonged  to  Joe  Brown's  (the  Gover- 
nor's) "malish."  They  soon  relieved  him  of  his  coat  and 
hat  and  sent  him  on  his  way  sorrowing.  About  the  time  the 


OR    SOUTHERN    LIFE    DURING    THE    WAR.  37 

militiaman  was  out  of  sight  a  fearless  young  soldier  by  the 
name  of  Roscoe  Ryan,  who  was  a  friend  of  Dr.  C.  and  fam- 
ily, but  who  knew  nothing  of  the  trouble,  as  the  bell-ring- 
ing and  screaming  had  ceased  when  the  first  two  citizens 
had  been  detained,  came  by  on  his  way  home,  and  they  at- 
tempted to  play  the  same  game  on  him,  but  in  him  they 
had  met  their  master.  He  informed  them  in  language  too 
plain  to  be  misunderstood  that  they  were  villains  and 
scoundrels,  and  threatened  to  see  that  they  were  severely 
dealt  with,  and  then  passed  on  without  further  molestation. 
All  of  the  prisoners  were  then  released,  and  the  would-be 
robbers  and  murderers  slunk  out  of  sight  and  hearing. 
Soon  after  a  soldier  was  seen  passing  by,  and,  fearing  that 
the  men  might  return,  Mrs.  C.  requested  him  to  guard  the 
house  until  morning.  He  stated  that  it  would  be  impossi- 
ble for  him  to  do  so,  but  insisted  on  leaving  a  gun  for 
their  protection  in  case  of  further  trouble.  She  thanked 
him  very  kindly,  but  instead  of  going  out  to  take  it  she 
requested  him  to  lay  it  on  the  lawn,  for  she  was  suspicious  of 
him,  not  knowing  but  what  he  might  belong  to  the  same 
gang  who  had  just  caused  them  much  uneasiness.  The  gun 
which  had  been  placed  on  the  lawn  by  the  soldier  remained 
there  until  morning,  when  it  was  taken  up.  Months  after, 
it  was  placed  in  the  hands  of  a  gunsmith  for  examination, 
who,  in  withdrawing  the  charge,  found  it  had  been  doubly 
loaded,  and  had  it  been  fired  in  that  condition  might  have 
been  productive  of  very  serious  results.  The  most  reason- 
able supposition  as  to  the  motives  which  led  the  bold  but 

302231 


38  ECHOES  FROM  THE  BATTLEFIELD 

cowardly  scoundrels  to  make  an  unsuccessful  attempt  to 
break  into  the  doctor's  residence,  must  be  attributed  to 
the  fact  that  one  or  more  members  of  the  party  had 
some  time  in  the  past,  by  frequent  visits  to  the  store,  be- 
come thoroughly  familiar  with  the  manner  in  which  the 
business  was  conducted.  They  had  evidently,  while  walking 
around  in  the  various  parts  of  the  store  making  small  pur- 
chases, closely  observed  the  office  department,  and  the  large 
amount  of  Confederate  bills,  together  with  both  gold  and 
silver  in  small  quantities,  was,  when  it  chanced  to  come 
within  the  range  of  their  vision,  a  temptation  greater  than 
their  avaricious  souls  could  resist.  Hence  they  must  have 
used  their  utmost  skill  as  detectives  in  carefully  watching 
the  final  disposition  of  the  money.  As  all  of  the  banks 
had  removed  from  the  city,  it  was  a  custom  of  Dr.  C.  to 
wrap  up  all  the  funds  in  paper,  place  it  under  his  arm  and 
take  it  home  with  him  each  evening.  There  can  be  but 
little  doubt  that  these  robbers  had  followed  him  home, 
spotted  the  house  and  taken  in  all  the  surroundings;  and 
that  when  he  was  forced  to  take  to  his  bed  on  account  of  ill- 
ness they  had  missed  him,  and  had  at  once  discovered  by 
casual  inquiry  not  only  his  sickness,  but  his  helpless  con- 
dition, and  a  knowledge  also  that  there  were  none  but  del- 
icate females  to  offer  them  any  resistance  when  the  proper 
time  came  for  them  to  carry  out  their  diabolical  plans, 
which,  in  all  human  probability,  might  have  been  success- 
fully accomplished  but  for  the  heroism  displayed  by  Mrs. 
C.  and  the  timely  arrival  of  that  gallant  young  soldier,  Roscoe 
Ryan. 


OR   SOUTHERN    LIFE   DURING    THE    WAR.  39 


CHAPTER  XI. 

Around  and  even  near  the  center  of  the  city  earthen 
fortifications  and  entrenchments  had  been  constructed,  and 
it  was  among  them  in  the  frequent  and  fiercely  fought  bat- 
tles that  many  of  the  brave  soldiers  of  the  opposing  ar- 
mies laid  down  their  lives.  General  Hood,  who  had  succeeded 
General  Johnston,  was  an  intense  fighter,  and  was  constantly 
giving  the  enemy  open  battle  with  great  loss  of  life,  and 
by  doing  so  he  entertained  strong  hopes  of  being  able  to  hold 
the  city.  But  on  the  22d  day  of  July  occurred  the  most  ter- 
rific conflict  which  had  ever  taken  place  between  these  two 
opposing  armies,  and  which  terminated  in  the  killing  and 
wounding  of  thirty  thousand  soldiers,  and  the  killing  of 
two  of  their  most  distinguised  officers.  General  McPherson, 
commanding  the  Federal  army  of  the  Tennessee,  was  killed 
while  attempting  to  reach  his  troops  after  the  assault  had 
begun,  having  been  with  General  Sherman  when  the  as- 
sault was  first  made.  He  came  upon  a  line  of  Confederates 
and,  when  wheeling  to  escape,  was  shot  dead  in  a  skirt  of 
woods  about  midway  between  Atlanta  and  Decatur.  Major- 
General  Walker,  of  the  Confederate  forces,  was  killed  near 
the  same  spot  while  leading  his  division  into  battle.  The 
United  States  Government  has  erected  a  monument  in 
honor  of  General  McPherson  on  the  same  spot  upon  which 
he  fell.  It  is  constructed  of  cannon  balls,  fenced  with 


40  ECHOES  FROM  THE  BATTLEFIELD 

rifle  barrels,  which  forms  a  neat  and  most  appropriate  trib- 
ute to  his  memory,  as  well  as  a  reminder  of  those  days  of 
the  sad  past  which  tried  men's  souls.  The  splendid  Mc- 
Phersou  Barracks,  situated  about  five  miles  from  At- 
lanta, are  also  named  in  his  honor.  An  old  red-clay  fort, 
situated  in  beautiful  Grant  Park,  which  was  occupied 
by  General  Walker  and  his  men,  is  named  in  his  honor. 
As  General  Hood  failed  to  complete  a  victory,  he  had  to 
content  himself  with  holding  Atlanta,  which  he  success- 
fully did  by  detached  fighting  daily  until  September  the 
first,  when  Gen.  Wm.  T.  Sherman,  having  cut  off  his  last 
resort  for  supplies  by  taking  possession  of  the  Macon  and 
Western  Railroad,  he  was  forced  to  evacuate  Atlanta,  after 
a  siege  of  nearly  two  months.  On  the  following  day 
Mayor  James  M.  Calhoun,  with  a  committee  of  councilmen 
and  citizens,  proceeded  to  the  Federal  camp,  and,  upon 
surrendering  the  city  to  General  Sherman,  asked  protection 
for  non-combatants  and  private  property,  which  was  prom- 
ised; and  only  the  very  nearly  complete  destruction  of 
the  city  can  bear  testimony  to  how  much  good  faith  was 
used  by  him  in  keeping  the  promise.  On  the  following  day, 
September  the  second,  the  Federal  troops  entered  and  took 
possession  of  the  city.  It  was  on  this  particular  occasion 
that  the  grandson  of  Doctor  C.,  in  company  with  two 
little  sons  of  Mr.  Craukshaw,  and  one  of  Mr.  Richardson^ 
both  of  whose  families  were  most  excellent  English  people, 
took  a  walk  of  four  long  blocks  to  the  Georgia  Railroad 
depot,  which  was  situated  near  the  center  of  the  city. 


OR   SOUTHERN    LIFE   DURING    THE   WAR.  41 

The  families  of  Mr.  Crankshaw  and  Richardson  had  some 
milch  cows;  and  as  cattle  feed  was  a  very  scarce  commodity 
they  were  anxious  to  obtain  anything  in  the  shape  of  food 
for  their  cows,  and  knowing  that  the  Confederate  army 
had  been  compelled  to  leave  a  large  supply  of  hardtack, 
a  large  but  miserable  imitation  of  a  cracker,  their  boys 
had  been  given  sacks  and  told  to  go  and  fill  them,  and  as 
the  boys  were  playmates  of  Doctor  C.'s  grandson  he  went 
with  them  to  assist  in  filling  the  sacks.  They  reached 
the  depot,  where  they  found  a  large  supply  of  hardtack, 
and  also  a  large  number  of  boys  engaged  in  moving  them. 
While  engaged  in  filling  their  sacks  some  one  in  the  crowd 
announced  that  the  Federals  were  already  in  the  business 
portion  of  the  city.  The  boys  cast  their  eyes  in  that  direc- 
tion and  discovered  that  the  announcement  was  only  too 
true,  for  they  could  plainly  discern  the  blue-coats  in  the 
distance,  who  were  rapidly  moving  toward  them,  which 
sent  a  thrill  of  terror  to  their  young  hearts;  and  then,  as 
it  seemed  to  them,  their  race  for  life  began,  and  with  a 
swiftness  almost  equal  to  that  of  a  deer  they  sped  onward 
to  their  homes  in  hopes  of  safety.  The  home  of  Doctor 
C.  was  soon  reached,  where  the  younger  of  Mr.  Crank- 
shaw's  boys,  and  Mr.  Richardson's,  accompanied  Doctor 
C.'s  grandson  into  the  house,  when  he  crawled  under  his 
grandmother's  bed  for  concealment,  and  it  took  consid- 
erable persuasion  under  promise  of  protection  to  get  him 
out.  The  negroes  working  on  the  place  had  pictured  the 
Yankees,  as  they  called  them,  to  him  in  the  most  glowing 


42  ECHOES  FROM  THE  BATTLEFIELD 

colors,  as  beastly  and  bloodthirsty  monsters,  whose  delight 
it  was  to  catch  men,  women  and  innocent  children  for  no 
other  purpose  than  to  murder  them. 

Soon  after  the  boy  came  out  from  his  place  of  conceal- 
ment, a  Federal  officer  and  his  staff  were  seen  riding  down 
the  street  in  front  of  the  house,  a  fact  which  assured  all 
that  the  enemy  had  taken  possession  of  the  city.  An  hour 
later  the  tramp,  tramp,  tramp,  of  the  greater  portion  of 
General  Sherman's  army  could  be  heard  as  they  passed 
down  the  street  by  the  doctor's  house.  This  continuous  mo- 
tion was  kept  up  for  several  hours,  when  the  command 
was  given  to  halt  and  rest.  No  sooner  had  they  broken  ranks 
than  hundreds  of  soldiers'  faces  could  be  seen  peering  through 
the  fence,  which  separated  the  street  from  the  garden,  and  as 
the  grape  arbor,  filled  with  temptingly  luscious  grapes,  ap- 
peared before  their  vision,  their  mouths  fairly  watered,  and 
their  stomachs  seemed  to  contain  an  aching  void  that  could 
only  be  filled  by  a  speedy  and  vigorous  assault  upon  them; 
which  in  less  than  five  minutes  was  accomplished,  greatly 
to  the  damage  of  both  the  grapes  and  the  arbor.  Perched 
as  they  were  on  every  available  inch  of  slat,  they  were  re- 
minders of  a  flock  of  hungry  blue-birds,  and,  strange  to  re- 
late, out  of  that  vast  number  of  men  who  enjoyed  the 
privilege  of  feasting  on  those  luscious  grapes,  all  had  taken 
them  by  force  with  the  exception  of  one,  whose  gentlemanly 
instinct  was  so  perfect  that  even  the  rough  army  life  had 
iailed  to  efface  it.  He  came  to  the  front  door  and  gently 
knocked  ;  some  member  of  the  family  opened  the  door  to 


OR   SOUTHERN    LIFE   DURING    THE   WAR.  43 

find  a  pleasant-faced  young  soldier  with  cap  in  hand  grace- 
fully bowing,  and  at  the  same  time  in  a  pleasant  tone  of 
voice  requesting  permission  to  be  allowed  to  gather  a  few 
grapes.  His  gentlemanly  demeanor  had  come  so  unexpect- 
edly that  it  gained  for  him  the  friendship  of  all  of  the 
doctor's  family.  His  name  was  Kellog,  and  he  came  from 
Ohio.  It  was  quite  a  fortunate  occurrence,  the  meeting  of 
this  soldier,  as  the  doctor  was  confined  to  his  bed  with  a 
very  serious  illness,  and  was  greatly  in  need  of  the  services 
of  a  competent  physician  to  attend  him,  and  as  there  were  no 
Southern  physicians,  all  having  left  when  the  city  was  evac- 
uated. The  last  Southern  surgeon  to  leave  the  city  was  Doc- 
tor John  Whitworth,  a  Mississippian  who  had  been  in  con- 
stant attendance  upon  the  doctor  for  a  week  or  more,  and 
stayed  at  great  risk  until  the  very  last  possible  moment. 
He  was  a  nephew  of  Doctor  C.'s  wife ;  and  the  family  had 
to  implore  him  to  leave  to  avoid  capture,  and  how  anxiously 
they  watched  him  as  he  put  spurs  to  his  horse  and  rapidly 
disappeared  from  view,  apparently  safe  from  the  boys  in 
blue.  Mr.  Kellog  was  requested  to  have  a  Federal  sur- 
geon visit  the  doctor,  which  he  kindly  did,  and  in  response 
to  his  request  Dr.  Wm.  C.  Bennett,  a  very  gentlemanly  and 
eminent  surgeon,  called  upon  the  doctor  and  found  him  very 
ill.  He  was  suffering  with  a  dangerous  tumor  on  one  side  of 
his  face,  and  the  doctor  decided  that  a  surgical  operation 
would  be  necessary;  and  he  called  in  another  surgeon  to  as- 
sisthim.  After  the  operation  was  performed  the  doctor  was 
much  more  comfortable,  and  began  to  improve  very  rapidly, 
but  it  required  many  weeks  to  fully  regain  his  usual  health. 


44  ECHOES  FROM  THE  BATTLEFIELD 

When  the  surgeons  first  called  on  him  they  found  him  in 
a  very  weak  condition,  and  greatly  in  need  of  a  stimulant 
daily,  and  as  the  doctor  did  not  possess  any,  the  surgeons, 
as  long  as  they  remained  in  the  city,  were  very  careful 
to  see  that  he  was  supplied  with  the  very  best  rye 
whiskey  from  the  United  States  Dispensary.  They  showed 
him  every  possible  kindness  and  consideration,  and  by 
so  doing  they  received  the  very  grateful  attachment  of 
the  doctor  and  his  family,  who  were  truly  sorry  when 
the  time  for  their  final  departure  had  arrived.  No  words 
of  praise  could  adequately  express  the  gentlemanly  and 
Christian  character  of  these  two  noble  Union  surgeons. 
At  sunrise  on  the  morning  of  the  departure  of  the  Fed- 
eral army,  the  doctor's  family  awoke  to  gaze  upon  one 
of  the  most  awful  and  sickening  sights  it  had  ever  been 
their  misfortune  to  witness — their  own  beloved  city  en- 
veloped on  all  sides  in  a  seething  mass  of  smoke  and 
flame,  madly  curling  upward  to  the  blue  skies  above, 
and  leaving  behind  only  blackened  ruins  and  heaps  of 
ashes.  General  Sherman's  men  had  applied  the  match, 
and  the  flames  completed  the  work  which  it  had  begun; 
but  not  until  it  had  brought  many  innocent  owners  of 
property  to  the  very  verge  of,  and  in  many  cases  abso- 
lute poverty.  Unfortunately  for  the  doctor,  his  entire 
stock  of  drugs,  notes,  accounts  and  valuable  papers  all 
went  up  in  smoke.  Ju»t  opposite  the  doctor's  residence 
stood  the  handsome  home  of  Mr.  H.,  which  was  one 
among  the  very  last  to  be  fired.  Some  Union  soldiers 


OR    SOUTHERN   LIFE   DURING    THE   WAR.  45 

had  been  observed  as  they  left  the  building,  and  a  few 
moments  later  the  house  was  one  solid  sheet  of  flame. 
The  heat  from  the  fire  was  so  intense  that  it  drew  the 
rosin  from  Doctor  C.'s  front  door.  His  family  were  liv- 
ing in  the  center  of  a  circle,  the  edges  of  which  were 
emitting  flame,  smoke  and  heat,  as  one  of  the  wicked 
incidents  of  war.  As  descriptive  power  is  almost  inade- 
quate to  vividly  portray  the  real  horrors  of  such  a  con- 
flagration, I  shall  not  attempt  it,  but  shall  now  speak  of 
the  people  whose  unhappy  lot  it  was  to  observe  it. 

The  few  remaining  people  underwent  many  privations 
and  greatly  needed  the  necessities  of  life,  as  it  took  sev- 
eral days  for  the  farmers  who  were  so  fortunate  as  to 
live  in  sections  of  the  country  not  devastated  by  the 
armies  to  reach  the  city  with  supplies ;  many  of  them 
having  traveled  several  hundred  miles. 

Gradually  the  citizens  who  had  been  forced  to  leave  the 
city  by  order  of  General  Sherman,  began  to  return  for  the 
purpose  of  clearing  away  the  ashes  and  mouldering  ruins  of 
their  former  homes,  so  as  to  rebuild  them  in  such  a  manner 
as  their  limited  means  would  permit.  And  many  tear- 
stained  and  saddened  faces,  as  they  gazed  for  the  first  time 
on  their  once  happy  homes,  now  blackened  ruins,  told  only 
too  plainly  and  truly  of  the  completeness  of  the  wreck 
left  by  General  Sherman. 

Doctor  C.  had  now  practically  recovered  his  health,  and 
soon  began  to  go  among  the  ruins  and  examine  the  extent 
of  the  destruction. 


46  ECHOES  FKOM  THE  BATTLEFIELD 


CHAPTER  XII. 

Plunderers  who  lived  some  miles  from  the  city  began 
to  come  in  large  numbers  for  the  purpose  of  stealing  such 
furniture  as  still  remained  in  the  few  houses  that  were  left 
standing.  Their  depredations  were  so  frequent  that  the  few 
remaining  citizens  held  a  meeting  to  organize  a  city  gov- 
ernment for  their  mutual  protection.  Doctor  C.  was  elected 
mayor  to  serve  until  the  return  of  the  mayor  who  had 
gone  south  after  surrendering  the  city.  One  of  the  doctor's 
first  official  acts  was  to  appoint  every  able-bodied  man  a 
police  officer.  Trinity  Methodist  Church  was  filled  with 
pianos  and  handsome  furniture  of  every  description,  be- 
longing to  the  best  class  of  Atlanta's  citizens,  who,  when 
ordered  away  by  General  Sherman,  had  been  permit- 
ted to  place  them  there  for  safe  keeping.  While  the  plun- 
derers might  not  have  seen  any  moral  wrong  in  taking  that 
which  did  not  belong  to  them,  believing  all  things  taken 
during  war  was  fair,  nevertheless  their  mistaken  views  did 
not  .obliterate  the  fact  that  they  were  thieves.  Some  of 
these  people  soon  discovered  that  all  they  had  to  do  was  to 
go  to  the  church  and  get  a  choice  load  of  furniture  and 
haul  it  home ;  several  loads  had  been  taken  when  a  citizen 
happened  to  make  the  discovery.  The  writer  was  present 
on  one  occasion  when  one  of  the  thieves  was  attempting  to 
haul  off  a  load  of  elegant  furniture,  but  was  forced  to  re- 
place it  at  the  point  of  a  police  officer's  pistol. 


OR   SOUTHERN   LIFE   DURING   THE   WAR.  47 

Within  a  few  months  the  greater  portion  of  Atlanta's 
absent  citizens  had  returned,  and  the  sound  of  the  hammer, 
saw  and  trowel  could  be  heard  in  every  portion  of  the  city. 
All  was  now  life  and  activity,  and  each  and  every  one  was 
striving  to  rebuild  on  the  ruins,  of  what  in  the  future  was 
to  be  a  great  and  magnificent  city.  Many  years  ago  when 
it  was  not  a  city  but  simply  a  railroad  terminus,  the  doctor's 
relative,  that  greatest  of  Southern  statesmen,  John  C.  Cal- 
houn,  predicted  that  it  would  in  the  years  to  come  become 
the  greatest  inland  city  of  the  South.  How  nearly  correct 
were  his  views  cannot  only  be  substantiated  by  its  one 
hundred  and  twenty  thousand  citizens  of  to-day,  but  by  the 
vast  number  of  visitors  who  have  entered  and  passed 
through  its  portals,  and  partaken  of  its  hospitalities,  during 
the  three  magnificent  expositions  held  here  in  the  past 
twenty  years. 


48  ECHOES  FROM  THE  BATTLEFIELD 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

A  night  or  two  before  the  evacuation  of  the  city,  the  Con- 
federate forces  had  many  car-loads  of  explosive  munitions 
of  war,  which  it  would  be  impossible  to  take  with  them,  and 
lest  it  should  fall  into  the  enemies'  hands  they  lined  the  rail- 
road tracks  east  of  the  passenger  depot  with  them  and  set 
them  on  fire,  the  lurid  flames  of  which  as  they  sped  upward 
lighted  up  the  whole  city,  and  the  continuous  noise  of  the  ex- 
ploding ammunition  was  more  terrible  and  intense  as  a  ter- 
rorizer  than  the  greatest  battle  which  ever  occured.  Its  effect 
upon  the  sleeping  citizens  who  had  no  knowledge  of  what 
was  to  transpire  was  extremely  startling,  as  the  noise  was 
as  that  of  a  near-by,  fiercely-fought  battle,  and  the  bril- 
liancy of  the  illumination  was  such  as  the  burning  of  a  city 
in  the  distance  would  produce.  After  the  departure  of  the 
Federals,  the  country  for  miles  around  presented  a  scene 
of  almost  unequaled  desolation.  Many  trees  had  fallen  by 
the  army-woodman's  ax,  and  those  left  standing  were  but 
the  shattered  remnants  of  their  former  selves,  lor  cannon- 
ball,  shell  and  Minie  had  vied  with  each  other  iu  their 
attempts  at  relieving  the  mighty  oaks  and  pines  of  their 
limbs  and  trunks.  The  woods  and  fields  were  strewn  with 
the  carcasses  of  dead  and  decaying  animals,  most  of  which 
had  performed  valuable  service,  but  becoming  disabled  were 
shot  or  left  to  die  of  starvation,  and  the  sickening  stench  of 
their  dead  bodies  attracted  numbers  of  buzzards  which  fat- 


OR   SOUTHERN   LIFE   DURING   THE   WAR.  49 

tened  on  the  dead  and  decaying  remnants  of  war.  Many 
hungry  and  half  wild  dogs  made  night  hideous  with  their 
howling,  and  frightened  the  women  and  children  greatly,  as 
they  could  be  seen  at  almost  any  hour  daily  running  wildly 
about  the  streets,  seemingly  seeking  whom  they  might 
devour.  But  enough  of  the  devastating  and  sickening 
scenes  of  a  war  between  what  was  once  a  union  of  brothers, 
now  left  desolate,  and  the  former  love  now  turned  to  bit- 
terest hate,  as  an  effect  of  the  appeal  to  arms ;  such  an  exist- 
ing state  of  affairs  was  clearly  discernible  at  its  close.  But 
time  in  its  onward  flight,  closely  pursued  by  a  kind  provi- 
dence, which  bore  upon  its  wing  a  heavenly  balm  for  the 
healing  of  the  nations,  closed  the  gaping  wounds  of  the 
bloody  chasm,  and  cemented  afresh  with  indissoluble  ties 
of  brotherly  love  and  trust  this  glorious  Union  of  States. 
And  may  the  omnipotent  God  who  so  wisely  ruleth  over  the 
destinies  of  nations  ever  keep  it  pure  and  spotless,  and 
may  no  foreign  foe  ever  invade  our  peaceful  shores,  lest 
they  be  driven  to  their  ships  and  sunk  beneath  the  waves 
by  those  gallant  boys  who  once  did  wear  the  blue  and  the 
gray. 

4  si 


50  ECHOES  FROM  THE  BATTLEFIELD 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

While  the  war  was  in  progress,  Virginia,  who  had  married 
a  Northern  gentleman  before  its  commencement,  had  moved 
to  the  State  of  New  Jersey  and  was  very  comfortably  situ- 
ated, and  her  happiness  was  well-nigh  complete;  but  as 
the  war  clouds  began  to  hover  over  this  land,  her  mind 
was  greatly  disturbed,  and  her  constant  prayer  was  that  it 
might  be  averted  ;  but  when  the  declaration  of  war  camer 
it  found  her  drooping  spirits  completely  shattered,  for  all 
that  life  held  dear  to  her,  with  the  exception  of  her  hus- 
band, were  living  in  her  dear  old  Southland.  Father^ 
mother,  brothers,  sisters  and  kindred  were  now  to  be  sep- 
arated from  her  by  a  line  which  to  cross  meant  death,  and 
she  was  even  to  be  denied  the  pleasure  of  the  weekly  ex- 
change of  letters  which  had  been  such  a  source  of  pleasure 
to  her  since  leaving  the  old  homestead,  and  then  the  awful 
thought  that  her  father  and  brothers  might  be  slain,  and 
the  mother  and  sisters  left  desolate ;  and  that  perhaps  she 
might  never  be  permitted  to  look  upon  their  dear  faces 
again,  filled  her  young  heart  with  grief  which  was  almost 
unbearable. 

While  it  had  been  determined  that  it  would  only  be 
a  few  months  before  General  Sherman  would  be  knock- 
ing at  the  very  gates  of  Atlanta,  two  of  Doctor  C.'s  daugh- 
ters, Georgia  and  Florida,  in  company  with  a  negro  slave 
woman,  refugeed  to  Columbia  county,  near  Augusta,  Ga., 


OR    SOUTHERN   LIFE   DURING   THE   WAR.  51 

about  two  hundred  miles  southeast  of  Atlanta,  where  they 
spent  their  time  very  pleasantly  visiting  among  their  rela- 
tives ;  but  when  the  news  reached  them  of  the  fall  of  At- 
lanta, their  pleasure  was  turned  to  sorrow,  for  there  was 
a  dreadful  uncertainty  of  the  fate  of  the  dear  ones  at 
home,  as  they  knew  not  what  had  been  the  effect  of  the 
shelling  upon  them,  or  how  they  had  fared  since  they  were 
in  the  enemy's  possession.  Soon  after  the  surrender  of 
General  Lee  at  Appomattox,  Edward  returned  to  his  home 
in  a  hungry,  footsore  and  tired  condition,  and  the  loving 
reception  extended  to  this  overpowered  but  unconquered 
southern  soldier  boy  was  beautiful  to  behold.  He  was 
permitted  to  bring  a  beautiful  new  cavalry  carbine 
home  with  him,  which  he  gave  to  his  little  nephew,  who 
was  greatly  delighted  with  it,  and  used  it  for  several  years 
in  hunting  quails,  larks,  robbins  and  doves.  Soon  after 
his  return  he  was  appointed  city  physician,  the  first  At- 
lanta had  ever  had,  and  daily  as  well  as  nightly  his  calling 
was  to  minister  to  indigent  poor,  both  white  and  black, 
and  as  smallpox  was  an  epidemic,  especially  among  the 
blacks,  his  position  was  not  an  enviable  one ;  he  soon  tired 
of  this  life,  and  as  he  was  an  exceptionally  fine  civil  en- 
gineer he  had  no  difficulty  in  obtaining  the  position  of 
assistant  engineer  on  the  Atlanta  and  Charlotte  Air  Line 
Railroad,  the  first  one  surveyed  in  this  section  after  the 
close  of  the  war. 

After  finishing  this  work  he  resumed  the  practice  of 
medicine,  but  not  in  the  city,  as  formerly,  as  he  prefered 


52  ECHOES  FROM  THE  BATTLEFIELD 

to  do  country  practice.  He  established  himself  in  Henry 
county,  which  adjoined  his  home,  where  he  lived  and  most 
successfully  practiced  medicine  for  many  years  ;  and  so 
successful  was  he  that  he  earned  the  sobriquet  of  Menin- 
gitis Doctor.  He  was  soon  happily  married  to  a  beautiful 
young  girl,  and  to  them  was  born  a  lovely  little  girl  baby, 
which  was  the  idol  of  his  heart,  but  this  tender  little  bud, 
which  was  by  great  suffering  gradually  withering  away, 
was  by  the  mercy  of  our  Lord  early  called  to  blossom  on 
the  celestial  shores.  But  while  baby  yet  lived,  and  he  was 
in  the  very  midst  of  his  happiness,  his  health  began  to  fail 
and  he  decided  to  give  up  country  practice.  He  soon 
removed  to  the  little  town  in  which  he  first  beheld  the 
light  of  dawn,  Decatur,  Ga.  He  had  just  recovered  from 
a  serious  attack  of  pneumonia,  brought  on  by  sleeping  iii 
cold  shed-rooms,  while  attending  country  patients  during 
the  winter  season. 

He  had  been  in  Decatur  but  a  short  time  when  his 
cough  assumed  a  serious  condition,  and  it  was  feared  that 
consumption  was  slowly  making  serious  inroads  upon  his 
once  vigorous  constitution.  Some  years  prior  to  the  war, 
while  he  was  a  student  studying  medicine,  it  was  his 
nightly  custom  to  go  to  his  father's  office  and  seat  himself 
in  a  very  strongly  built  and  comfortable  office  chair,  which 
had  an  arm  large  enough  to  accommodate  a  book  and 
lighted  candle.  On  this  occasion  he  was  sitting  in  the 
chair,  his  mind  deeply  absorbed  in  study,  when  suddenly, 
without  any  warning,  the  floor  sank  down  one  story, 


OR    SOUTHERN   LIFE   DURING    THE    WAR.  53 

carrying  him  with  it,  while  the. roof  at  the  same  time 
settled  down  upon  the  floor,  but  his  life  was  in  some 
miraculous  manner  saved,  perhaps  attributable  to  the  strong 
chair,  which  acted  as  a  support  for  the  roof  and  kept  it  off 
of  him.  The  loud  noise  occasioned  by  the  collapse  of  the 
building  brought  out  the  fire  department,  as  well  as  a 
number  of  citizens,  who  were  eager  to  know  if  any  one 
was  in  the  building  when  the  collapse  occurred.  Some  one 
announced  that  Edward  had  been  caught  in  the  fall.  Im- 
mediately every  one  began  to  search  for  him,  and  each  one 
would  loudly  call  his  name.  His  feeble  voice  was  soon 
heard  by  a  negro  man,  who  approached  with  an  axe  in 
hand,  and  by  cutting  some  timbers,  which  held  him  pin- 
ioned down,  soon  rescued  him  from  his  perilous  position. 
It  was  ever  afterward  a  standing  joke  that  he  had  to  be 
"axed"  out.  It  has  been  said  that  although  he  was 
covered  with  lime  dust  externally,  and  his  lungs  filled  with 
the  same,  caused  by  the  falling  plaster,  that  as  soon  as  he 
was  placed  on  his  feet,  although  he  was  in  a  dazed  condition, 
he  immediately  ran  for  his  home  so  rapidly  as  to  have  done 
credit  to  a  race-horse.  This  accident  no  doubt  caused  his 
lungs  to  become  weakened,  and  when  he  was  seized  with 
pneumonia  it  was  more  than  they  could  stand ;  hence  con- 
sumption in  the  very  worst  form  had  surely  seized  upon 
him  as  its  victim.  As  he  gradually  began  to  fail  his  father 

and  mother  persuaded  him  to  leave  Decatur  and  come  to 

\ 

live  with  them  in  Atlanta.  But  how  sad  it  made  his  loved 
ones  feel,  as  day  by  day  they  noticed  the  wasting  away  of 


54  ECHOES    FROM   THE   BATTLEFIELD 

his  body,  and  the  increased  coughing  attacks  as  they  were 
followed  by  slight  hemorrhages  at  first  but  increasing  as 
the  disease  progressed  ;  but  the  dear  patient  sufferer  never 
gave  up  hope  for  a  final  restoration  to  health.  How  beau- 
tiful were  his  expressions  of  thankfulness  to  each  and  every 
one  who  showed  him  the  slightest  kindness  or  attention, 
and  it  was  absolutely  a  real  pleasure  to  be  permitted  to  do 
him  even  the  slightest  little  kindness.  At  length  after  a 
long  and  wearisome  night,  when  the  day  dawn  was  being 
ushered  in,  the  time  for  his  departure  from  this  sin-smitten 
world  had  arrived,  and  his  spirit  took  its  flight  to  the 
great  beyond,  and  from  the  purity  of  his  life  and  unshaken 
trust  in  the  Christ  who  died  for  him,  we  feel  sure  that  he 
now  peacefully  sleeps  among  the  many  just  made  perfect, 
who  have  long  since  passed  from  death  to  life  eternal. 


OR    SOUTHERN    LIFE    DURING    THE    WAR.  55 


CHAPTER  XY. 

A  reunion  of  the  doctor's  family  had  been  planned  to 
take  place  the  year  following  the  war.  And  Missouri, 
who  had  removed  from  Atlanta  during  the  latter  part  of 
the  war  to  Mobile,' Ala.,  was  to  attend  in  company  with 
her  husband  and  little  sou  James,  asVas  also  Virginia  with 
her  husband  and  three  lovely  little  girls,  Virginia,  Lucy 
and  Bertha.  The  grandparents,  aunts,  and  uncle  were 
very  anxious  to  meet  the  little  girls  whom  they  had  never 
seen.  Virginia,  with  her  little  family,  arrived  promptly 
at  the  appointed  time,  and  the  doctor's  family  was  com- 
pletely overjoyed  while  receiving  them,  for  it  had  been 
ten  years  since  they  had  seen  Virginia,  and  now  they  were 
not  only  to  have  the  pleasure  of  her  company  again,  but 
an  additional  one  in  looking  after  the  three  cunning  little 
Yankee  girls.  Just  here  a  divine  providence  intervened, 
which  once  more  turned  this  household  of  joy  into  one  of 
sorrow ;  for  their  much-loved  daughter  Missouri  had  con- 
tracted a  severe  case  of  bilious  fever  which  did  not  yield 
to  the  treatment  of  the  skillful  physician,  but  lay  claim  to 
her  precious  life.  She  was  laid  to  rest  in  a  magnificent 
vault  in  one  of  the  most  beautiful  cemeteries  of  the  South- 
land, situated  in  that  lovely  gulf  city,  Mobile,  Ala.,  where 
the  magnolia  trees  flourish  in  all  their  beauty  summer  and 
winter,  and  where  the  odors  of  the  sweetly  perfumed  cape- 
jessamines  are  wafted  by  the  gentle  gulf  breeze,  and  the 


56  ECHOES  FROM  THE  BATTLEFIELD 

mocking-bird  sweetly  sings  its  evening  song.  Thus  comes 
to  pass  the  saying,  man  proposes  but  God  disposes.  Hence 
the  joyous  reunion  so  carefully  planned  could  never  in  full 
be  carried  out.  Missouri's  husband  and  little  boy  came  ; 
but  oh  what  sadness  the  sight  of  their  faces  brought  to  that 
home  !  After  spending  a  month  with  her  parents  Virginia 
and  her  family  returned  to  their  Northern  home,  where 
they  lived  happily  for  the  following  six  years ;  but  sorrow 
soon  came,  for  her  husband  was  seized  with  a  lingering 
but  fatal  illness,  which  within  a  year  called  him  to  his 
reward,  for  which  he  had  made  full  preparation.  Death 
having  separated  her  from  her  husband,  Virginia  became 
very  lonely,  and  determined  once  more  to  return  to  the 
home  of  her  parents  and  remain  with  them  during  their 
declining  years,  and  in  order  to  do  so  she  leased  out  her 
beautiful  home,  after  which  she  bade  farewell  to  home  and 
friends,  and  was  soon  mingling  again  with  the  loved  ones- 
of  her  childhood.  But  not  a  year  had  passed  since  her 
arrival  before  her  father,  Doctor  C.,  was  stricken  down 
with  pleuro-pneumonia.  He  had  been  suffering  with  a 
severe  cough  for  more  than  a  week,  when,  on  a  beautiful, 
balmy  February  day  he  imprudently  wore  a  pair  of  rather 
low-quartered  shoes  instead  of  boots  as  was  his  custom  ; 
at  night  he  was  seized  with  most  violent  pains,  not  only 
in  the  region  of  the  chest,  but  extending  to  the  bowels. 
He  at  first  thought  it  was  a  severe  case  of  colic,  but  after 
using  his  usual  remedy  for  its  treatment  without  relief,  he 
became  convinced  of  the  nature  of  his  disease  and  the  ma- 


OR   SOUTHERN   LIFE   DURING   THE   WAR.  57 

lignancy  of  its  character  and  remarked  to  members  of  his 
family  who  were  present  that  it  would  surely  prove  fatal, 
and,  after  much  suffering  for  twenty-seven  days,  death 
came  as  a  relief  to  him.  He  had  passed  the  seventy-fifth 
mile-post  on  life's  rough  and  care-worn  road,  but  his  vig- 
orous manhood  was  shown  by  his  wonderful  power  in  re- 
sisting so  stubbornly  a  disease  which  at  that  time  was 
almost  an  epidemic,  and  was  taking  off  almost  without  ex- 
ception every  one  who  was  so  unfortunate  as  to  be  stricken 
with  it,  and  one  which  usually  claimed  its  victims  in  from 
ten  to  fourteen  days. 

The  doctor  had  been  physician  to  Fulton  county  prison 
for  over  seven  years,  between  the  years  of  1865  and  1874, 
and  had  attended  every  sick  prisoner  contained  within  its 
walls,  both  county,  State  and  United  States,  and  there  was 
a  vast  number  of  them ;  nine-tenths  of  which  he  treated 
with  a  liver  pill  of  his  own  make.  But  strange  as  it  may 
seem,  although  he  treated  almost  every  disease  incident  to 
this  climate,  not  a  solitary  death  occurred  under  his  treat- 
ment. This  is  a  stubborn  fact  which  remains  uncontro- 
verted  by  the  medical  profession  of  the  world,  that  the  doc- 
tor's record  as  well  as  his  pills  have  never  been  equaled. 
His  pills  made  him  locally  famous,  but  in  doing  so  ruined 
his  general  practice,  as  his  patrons,  after  using  them  one 
time,  found  that  by  sending  to  the  doctor  for  a  box  of  his 
pills  they  could,  by  using  them  in  time,  ward  off  disease, 
and  save  the  necessity  as  well  as  the  expense  of  the  atten- 
tion of  a  physician. 


58  ECHOES  FROM  THE  BATTLEFIELD 

The  death  of  the  doctor  brought  to  a  close,  a  noble, 
generous,  sympathetic  and  well-spent  life,  and  although  he 
had  passed  the  allotted  three-score  years  and  ten,  he  was 
no  idler,  his  talent  had  not  been  laid  aside  to  rust,  and 
when  the  call,  come  higher  to  thine  everlasting  home, 
sounded  in  his  ears,  he  was  actively  engaged  in  giving  medi- 
cal attention  not  only  to  those  living  in  affluence  by  whom 
his  daily  bread  came ;  but  he  bestowed  the  same  watchful 
care  and  attention  upon  the  humblest  negro  in  his  rude 
cabin  as  upon  the  most  favored  ones,  recognizing  the  scrip- 
tural injunction  of  love  one  another,  be  kind  one  to  another, 
and  thus  fulfill  the  law  of  Christ.  A  large  concourse  of 
friends  as  well  as  patients,  many  of  whom  had  been  by  his 
skillful  treatment  through  the  mercy  of  God,  as  it  were, 
almost  raised  from  the  dead  and  restored  to  health,  gath- 
ered around  the  bier  to  pay  their  last  respects  to  one  whose 
kindly  face  and  gentle  voice  would  never  more  be  seen  or 
heard  on  earth,  and  as  they  consigned  his  body  to  the  grave 
and  his  spirit  to  the  God  who  gave  it,  many  were  the  tears 
that  mingled  with  the  earth  of  that  city  of  the  dead — beau- 
tiful Oakland  cemetery  of  Atlanta,  Ga.,  where  he  is  now 
peacefully  resting  from  his  labors. 

The  removal  of  the  good  old  doctor  from  this  busy  world, 
left  the  faithful  wife  who  had  started  out  on  life's  pilgrim- 
age with  him,  to  climb  the  steep  and  rugged  pathways 
alone,  and  his  helpful  companionship  for  over  forty  years 
was  now  brought  to  a  close,  until  they  meet  in  paradise. 
Life  to  Mrs.  C.  was  now  very  desolate,  and  but  for  the 


OR   SOUTHERN    LIFE    DURING    THE    WAR.  59 

companionship  of  her  daughters  and  grandsons  would 
hardly  have  been  worth  the  living.  But  she  was  spared 
not  only  long  enough  to  see  her  eldest  grandson  fully  grown, 
but  to  clasp  in  her  loving  arras  and  bless  his  baby  boy,  her 
first  great-grandson ;  but  she  did  not  tarry  long  after  his 
arrival,  for  the  weight  of  eighty-two  years  fell  too  heavily 
upon  her  to  permit  her  to  withstand  a  desperate  case  of 
pneumonia  with  which  she  was  seized.  After  a  useful  life, 
one  spent  in  doing  good  and  trying  to  make  others  happy, 
in  fact,  all  with  whom  she  chanced  to  come  in  contact,  her 
spirit  winged  its  flight  to  the  land  beyond  the  skies,  where, 
now  in  company  with  her  loved  ones  who  have  gone  before, 
she  anxiously  awaits  the  coming  of  the  dear  ones  left  on 
earth  and  hopes  for  that  family  reunion  which  was  planned, 
but  failed  to  succeed  on  earth,  to  materialize  in  Heaven. 

Oakland  cemetery,  situated  on  an  eminence  which  over- 
looks the  city  to  the  westward  and  the  beautiful  farming  . 
country  for  miles  around  to  the  south  and  east,  is  pic- 
turesquely beautiful  with  its  trees  and  shrubbery,  lawns, 
flowers,  driveways,  vaults,  and  marble  shafts.  One  especially 
noticeable  stands  as  a  monument  to  the  many  Confederate 
heroes  who  are  buried  near  its  base.  And  not  far  from 
this  sacred  spot,  side  by  side,  rest  the  bodies  of  Doctor  C., 
his  wife  and  son  Edward,  together  with  grandchildren  and 
great-grandchildren.  The  intervening  space  between  the 
spot  where  the  doctor  and  his  bonny  bride  first  made  their 
home  nest  is  but  five  miles  from  where  they  now  peace- 
fully slumber,  and  all  their  living  descendants,  with  the 


60  ECHOES  FROM  THE  BATTLEFIELD 

exception  of  their  grandson  James,  who  is  seeking  a  for- 
tune in  the  far  West,  are  so  near  to  their  last  resting-place 
that  they  could  visit  it  daily.  Thus  I  draw  to  its  close  a 
sad  but  true  story  of  Southern  Life  during  the  War. 


Copy  of  a  letter  from  one  of  the  Union  surgeons  who  so 
skillfully  treated  the  doctor  during  his  illness: 

DANBURY,  CONN.,  Jan.  21st,  1866. 

DEAR  DOCTOR. — I  have  some  anxiety  to  hear  from  the 
friends!  left  in  the  Confederacy  when  we  began  our  march  to 
the  Sea.  Mrs.  Holbrook  was  here  last  summer,  from  whom  I 
learned  that  you  were  all  alive  and  had  a  house  toshelteryou.  I 
was  glad  to  learn  that  much.  She  also  gave  me  some  messages 
you  sent  me,  showing  that  I  had  not  been  forgotten.  I  as- 
sure you  it  was  most  pleasant  to  hear  from  all  of  you  after 
so  long  an  absence,  and  especially  after  seeing  the  heavy 
cloud  of  smoke  hang  over  the  city  when  we  left.  I  suppose 
you  lost  the  store;  this  is  why  I  wished  you  to  take  as  many 
as  possible  of  the  goods  to  the  house,  for  fear  of  some  such 
thing,  though  I  had  no  knowledge;  yet  I  had  learned  in  war 
to  prepare  for  the  worst.  But  we  won't  talk  longer  on  this 
subject,  it  is  pleasant  neither  to  you  nor  me.  We  have  come 
out  of  it  with  our  lives,  and  let  us  be  thankful  for  this  good. 
I  intended  to  call  and  see  you  the  morning  I  left,  but  I  was 
behind  the  rest  of  my  staff  and  had  to  hurry.  I  would  have 
liked  to  bid  you  good-bye  though.  We  had  a  very  pleasant 


OR    SOUTHERN    LIFE    DURING    THE    WAR.  61 

march  to  Savannah,  when  I  left  and  came  home  soon  after 
the  war  closed,  and  you  and  I  were  heartily  glad  of  it.  So 
I  think  were  the  armies  of  both  sides,  and  so  were  the  right- 
minded  men  all  over  the  country.  I  came  home  and  went 
into  practice ;  am  doing  a  fair  business.  I  am  not  married 
yet  as  your  wife  advised  me,  and  cannot  until  I  make  money 
faster,  dry-goods  fall  or  girls  want  fewer  dresses.  Tell  her 
I  intend  to  marry  about  the  time  that  Yankee  blacksmith 
or  hospital  fellow  brings  back  the  buggy  she  lent  him.  I 
have  a  few  friends  here  and  some  enemies.  The  radical 
democrats  do  not  fancy  me  because  I  went  to  the  war  and 
endorsed  it.  The  radical  republicans  hate  me  because  I 
am  not  an  abolitionist,  because  I  voted  for  McClellan  and  \ 
against  negro  suffrage.  You  saw  the  vote  of  Connecticut  ,' 
on  the  question  of  letting  negroes  vote  in  this  State.  The 
returned  soldiers  voted  no  almost  to  a  man,  which  shocked 
the  abolition  party  greatly.  The  people  here  who  aspire 
to  be  genuine  cod-fish  aristocrats  and  are  simply  mud- 
turtle  aristocrats  are  mostly  homeopathists,  hating  my  father 
and  self  worse  than  the  gentleman  in  black  (decidedly). 
Party  spirit  runs  high,  and  one  must  be  a  radical  or  be  voted 
out  of  both  parties.  I  and  some  others  are  on  a  high  fence 
trying  to  keep  out  of  reach  of  the  yelping  crowd  and  our- 
selves undefiled  (though  occasionally  some  filthy  fellow 
throws  a  lump  of  mud  at  us),  until  some  conservative  party 
comes  around  willing  to  work  for  the  best  interest  of  the 
whole  country,  when  we  intend  to  join  in.  I  hope  it  will 
come  soon,  for  surely  we  will  go  to  the  dogs  soon  if  we  keep 


62  ECHOES  FROM  THE  BATTLEFIELD 

on  at  the  same  pace  we  are  now  going.  Why  can't  all  sec- 
tions of  the  country  consent  to  bury  the  past,  become  recon- 
ciled and  go  to  work  with  a  hearty  good-will  for  the  com- 
mon interest.  Please  write  me  what  you  know  of  the  con- 
dition of  the  South,  crops,  manufactories  etc.,  and  the  senti- 
ment of  the  people.  All  about  Atlanta.  All  about  your 
family,  and  what  became  of  the  son  who  was  at  war  when  I 
saw  you.  I  hope  he  came  home  safely.  Remember  me  to 
all  of  your  family  separately  and  individually.  I  shall  not 
forget  them  soon,  for  meeting  with  them  was  one  of  the  few 
pleasant  incidents  of  my  war  life.  I  enjoyed  it  much,  and 
only  wish  we  could  have  met  under  pleasanter  circum- 
stances. Remember  me  to  Mrs.  Hoi  brook.  How  are  my 
"parvenue"  friends,  the  Schofields.  You  need  not  remem- 
ber me  to  them  as  I  do  not  seek  the  acquaintance. 

Yours  truly, 

WM.  C.  BENNETT,  M.D. 

Just  as  the  closing  lines  of  this  story  were  being  writ- 
ten, a  speck  at  first,  but  gathering  strength  until  it  be- 
comes of  such  magnitude,  as  it  floats  from  Spain  to  our 
peaceful  shores,  as  to  be  pronounced  a  war  cloud,  is  being 
viewed  by  seventy-two  millions  of  patriots,  who  are  no 
longer  divided  by  the  bloody  chasm  of  thirty-five  years 
ago,  but  who  have  shaken  hands  across  it,  and  as  brothers, 
standing  side  by  side,  not  in  blue  nor  in  gray,  but  in  a 
mingled  blue  and  gray,  they  offer  to  place  upon  the  altar 
of  their  country  any  sacrifice,  even  life  itself. 


OR   SOUTHERN    LIFE   DURING    THE    WAR.  63 

THE  ORPHAN  GIRL'S  PRAYER. 

BY  C4.  W.  BROWN. 

Let  me  go  to  my  home — lam  weary  of  earth, 
Not  a  friend  have  I  left  in  the  land  of  my  birth  ; 
Let  me  go  where  the  bright  waters  chime  as  they  flow 
With  the  songs  of  the  angels — O  there  let  me  go. 

Let  me  go  to  my  father — I  remember  the  day 
When  the  bell  sadly  tolled  as  they  bore  him  away ; 
And  I  watched  for  his  coming,  when  the  sunlight  grew  low, 
But  he  came  to  me  never — to  him  let  me  go. 

Let  me  go  to  my  mother — she  calls  me  away 
To  the  bower  that  is  green  with  the  garlands  of  May, 
And  I  know  that  her  heart  doth  with  love  overflow 
For  the  last  of  her  household — to  her  let  me  go. 

Let  me  go  to  my  sisters — I'm  fading  like  them, 
And  dark  on  my  forehead  is  growing  life's  gem  ; 
And  I  shall  love  them  above  as  I  loved  them  below, 
Their  sweet  voices  call  me — O  world,  let  me  go. 

Let  me  go  to  my  brother — I  wept  when  he  died, 
-And  I  longed  to  be  laid  in  the  grave  by  his  side ; 
It's  been  night  in  my  heart  since  they  laid  him  so  low, 
Earth's  last  tie  was  broken — to  him  let  me  go. 


64  ECHOES  FROM  THE  BATTLEFIELD 

Let  me  go  to  my  home — as  the  lone  mountain  bird, 
To  a  sunnier  clime  when  the  bleak  winds  are  heard ; 
Let  me  go  where  the  bright  waters  chime  as  they  flow 
With  the  songs  of  the  angels — O  there  let  me  go. 


OR    SOUTHERN    LIFE   DURING    THE   WAR.  65 


THE  WAR  IS  OVER. 

Thanks  be  to  God  that  peace  and  prosperity  now  reign 
in  its  stead,  and  every  section  of  this  great  country  is  now 
peaceful  and  happy,  with  nothing  to  mar.  Phoenix  like 
the  proud  little  city  of  Atlanta  has  arisen  in  its  might  and 
floated  the  ashes  of  1864  out  on  the  breezes  of  each  passing 
year,  until  now  not  a  vestige  of  the  old  scar  remains  as  a 
reminder  of  the  unpleasant  past.  But  in  its  stead,  standing 
peacefully  serene,  are  magnificent  residences,  churches, 
schools,  factories  and  towering  office  buildings,  whose  flags 
as  they  float  out  upon  the  winds,  are  beckoning  to  the  many 
good  citizens  of  other  climes  who  are  looking  for  something 
better  to  come  and  lend  their  aid  in  the  further  develop- 
ment of  this  now  grand  and  growing  city ;  the  destiny  of 
which  is  now  considered  by  all  who  have  taken  the  pains 
to  watch  its  past  progression,  to  be  specially  suited  by  lo- 
cation, climate  and  health  fulness,  to  become  the  most  im- 
portant as  well  as  largest  city  in  the  Southland.  There  can 
be  no  doubt  of  its  becoming  the  educational  and  financial 
center  from  the  character  of  its  present  inhabitants  as 
well  as  those  who  are  constantly  being  added  to  its  num- 
bers. Its  citizens?  are  most  certainly  to  be  classed  among 
the  best  on  earth,  and  yet  they  come  from  almost  every 
tribe  and  nation,  and  scarcely  is  there  ever  the  slightest 
note  of  discord  among  them,  they  are  so  perfectly  blended 

5  si 


66  ECHOES  FROM  THE  BATTLEFIELD 

in  a  common  desire  to  do  something  good  and  great  for 
their  famous  city.  Life  and  property  are  perfectly  safe, 
each  man's  opinion  is  his  own,  and  no  one  dares  to  molest 
him.  The  courts  accord  equal  justice  to  all.  Its  system  of 
public  schools  is  well  nigh  perfect,  as  is  also  its  street 
railways,  which  extend  out  into  the  country  many  miles, 
connecting  many  of  the  near  by  towns.  Its  opera  houses 
and  places  of  amusement  rank  with  the  best.  It  has  many 
imposing  church  structures  of  almost  every  denomination, 
filled  by  some  of  the  best  pulpit  orators,  who  are  thoroughly 
consecrated  and  devote  much  of  their  time  to  the  poor  and 
sick,  in  alleviating  their  temporal  as  well  as  their  spiritual 
wants.  The  manufacturing  interests  are  quite  large  and 
are  steadily  growing.  The  climate  of  Atlanta  is  unsur- 
passed and  I  might  with  safety  add  well  nigh  perfect.  The 
winters  are  rarely  excessively  cold,  the  greater  portion 
being  so  pleasant  as  to  discard  the  use  of  an  overcoat.  The 
spring  and  summer  seasons  are  delightful,  and  a  compari- 
son with  those  of  other  cities  will  prove  its  superiority.  It 
has  a  beautiful  park  situated  on  its  eastern  side,  given  by 
that  philanthropic  gentleman,  the  late  Col.  L.  P.  Grant, 
and  named  in  his  honor.  It  can  be  reached  by  electric  cars 
in  twenty  minutes  from  the  center  of  the  city,  and  its 
beautiful  drives,  walks  and  lake  are  a  source  of  much  pleas- 
ure to  its  citizens  during  the  heated  days  of  summer.  Its 
cyclorama  affords  much  pleasure  to  both  young  and  old,  for 
there  they  can  see  the  battles  of  the  past  fought  over.  The 
Gress  zoo  given  to  the  city  by  that  kind-hearted  gentle- 


OR   SOUTHERN    LIFE  DURING   THE   WAR.  67 

man,  Mr.  Geo.  V.  Gress,  as  it  stands  upon  a  beautiful  emi- 
nence just  east  of,  and  overlooking  beautiful  Lake  Abana, 
filled  with  many  species  of  wild  animals,  from  the  monkey 
to  the  elephant,  is  the  El  Dorado  for  the  children,  as  their 
happy  smiles  and  joyous  laughter  prove ;  and  the  name  of 
the  generous  donor  will  ever  be  held  in  high  esteem  by  the 
happy  children  of  the  present  and  future  generations.  The 
Soldiers  Home,  an  institution  which   must  not  be  regarded 
as  a  charity,  was  built  by  the  subscriptions  of  a  loving  and 
generous  people  in  payment  of  a  debt   of  gratitude  due  to 
the  aged  and  infirm  veterans  of  "the  lost  cause,"  who  risked 
their  lives  and  received  many  wounds  and  scars  which  they 
will   carry   to    their   graves    in     defence    of    the    homes 
and  firesides  of  their  people.     Too  much  credit  cannot  be 
given  the  many   old  soldiers  who  planned  and  worked  so 
faithfully  to  establish  this  glorious  retreat,  where  the  aged 
and   weary  might   pleasantly  spend   the  evening  of  their 
lives.     Among  all  who  labored  for  the  establishment  of  this 
glorious  institution,  there  were  none  who  more  unselfishly 
gave  from  its  incipiency,  his  time  and  means,  than  the  gal- 
lant and  genial  Colonel  William  Lowndes  Caihoun,  and  for 
which  the  people  of  this  State  should  forever  love  and  honor 
him.     East  Lake  four  miles  east  and  Lakewood  four  miles 
south,  the  Chattahoochee  River  eight  miles  northwest  and 
Ponce  de  Leon  Springs  two  and  one  half  miles  distant  are 
important  places  during  the  summer  season    for  they  all 
furnish  fresh  air  and  shade  for  many  overworked  and  tired 
citizens.     One  of  the  most  important  discoveries  and  one 


68  ECHOES  FROM  THE  BATTLEFIELD 

which  will  tend  largely  to  the  future  growth  of  Atlanta, 
was  the  accidental  discovery  within  six  miles  west  of  it,  of 
a  spring  of  water  as  light  and  pure  as  nature  could  make 
it.  It  is  very  similar  to  and  an  analysis  of  it  reveals  the 
fact  that  it  is  the  twin  brother  of  the  famous  Poland  Spring 
of  Maine,  which  has  made  so  many  wonderful  cures.  It  is 
somewhat  superior  to  it  because  it  contains  less  organic 
matter  and  less  solids,  and  although  it  has  been  open  to  the 
public  less  than  two  years,  yet  its  fame  is  already  spreading 
abroad,  and  it  is  being  shipped  to  various  parts  of  the 
country  fora  much  smaller  price  than  Poland.  Both  of  these 
waters  have  had  numbers  of  persons  to  give  their  testimony 
to  the  numerous  cures  they  have  affected  in  liver,  kidney  and 
stomach  diseases,  dyspepsia,  indigestion,  constipation  and 
skin  diseases.  This  water,  it  is  claimed,  will  remain  on  the 
stomach  after  it  has  refused  to  retain  every  other  known 
liquid.  I  had  almost  forgotten  to  give  the  name  of  this 
newly  discovered  and  wonderful  spring.  The  water  is 
known  as  Cascade  Pure  Spring,  and  flows  out  from  among 
the  rocks  at  the  foot  of  a  high  and  densely  shaded  hill  in 
the  little  town  of  Cascade,  Ga.  The  Atlanta  Mineral 
Water  Supply  Company  of  this  city  are  sole  agents  for  the 
sale  of  this  water.  The  writer  has  driven  out  with  friends 
over  a  lovely  chert  road  six  miles  to  see  this  wonderful 
new  spring  and  was  amply  repaid  for  his  trouble.  For  not 
only  was  the  ride  highly  enjoyable,  but  the  beautiful  scen- 
ery through  which  he  passed,  and  especially  the  hills,  val- 
leys, and  water-fall  over  the  rugged  granite  rocks  were 


OR   SOUTHERN   LIFE   DURING   THE    WAR.  69 

life-inspiring,  but  after  drinking  a  number  of  glasses  from 
the  cool  spring  in  succession  without  any  discomfort,  a 
feeling  of  exhileration  came  over  him,  and  he  felt  that  he 
should  like  to  live  always  in  the  shadow  of  the  trees  of 
this  great  hill,  and  watch  the  ripple  of  the  cascade  as  it 
flows  over  the  rocks,  and  drink  of  the  water  of  its  spring 
forever.  All  who  have  suffered  from  nervous  dyspepsia  or 
indigestion,  may  readily  know  how  I  appreciated  the  drink- 
ing of  more  than  one  glass  of  water  at  a  time  without  pain. 
We  understand  a  movement  is  now  in  progress  to  build  a 
large  Hotel  and  Sanitarium  for  the  pleasure  and  rest  of 
the  tired  and  overworked,  and  the  cure  of  the  sick.  I  now  re- 
peat that  with  all  of  these  advantages  which  have  come  to  us 
since  1864  we  may  look  forward  to  greater  gains  in  the 
number  of  inhabitants,  and  rest  fully  assured  as  to  its  future 
prosperity.  A  visit  to  Atlanta  for  pleasure,  or  if  sick  a 
visit  to  Cascade  for  health,  and  you  will  want  to  live  among 
us  forever. 


70  ECHOES    FROM    THE    BATTLEFIELD 


Accompanying  the  following  note,  addressed  to  "Cav- 
lier,"  was  the  beautiful  poem  from  the  pen  of  Maj.  J.  R. 
Barrick,  entitled  "The  Monument  Oak  and  Pine,"  which 
we  take  great  pleasure  in  laying  before  our  readers  of  the 
Intelligencer,  it  having  at  our  earnest  request  been  handed 
us  by  "Cavalier"  for  that  purpose.  The  poem  itself  is  one 
of  the  finest  that  has  emanated  from  the  pen  of  the  gifted 
author,  and  this  is  saying  much  for  it.  It  is  a  compliment, 
too,  to  "Cavalier"  that  his  Christmas  story,  published  in 
this  paper,  had  the  effect  of  giving  inspiration  to  one  whose 
poetic  genius  is  recognized  far  and  wide  in  his  beloved 
South,  and  from  whose  graceful  pen  have  flowed  so  many 
beautiful  tributes  to  the  virtues  of  her  daughters  and  the 
valor  of  her  sons.  "The  Monument  Oak  and  Pine/'  which 
we  now  present  to  our  readers,  will  be  received  by  them 
with  delight,  and  will  add  largely  to  the  fame  of  the  author. 

ATLANTA,  GA.,  January  6,  1867. 

Dear  Sir: — Whilst  reading  last  evening  "The  Morniug 
Ride,"  by  John  Randolph  etc.,  which  is  accredited  to  your 
ready  and  graceful  pen,  I  chanced  upon  what  I  fancied  to 
be  a  pretty  theme  for  a  little  poem.  The  result  is  herewith 
enclosed,  with  many  misgivings  as  to  the  success  with 
which  the  subject  is  handled. 

Very  truly  yours, 

J.  R.  BARRICK. 


OR    SOUTHERN    LIFE   DURING    THE    WAR.  7,1 


THE  MONUMENT   OAK  AND  PINE. 

He  did  not  ask  the  marble  slab 

Above  his  dust  should  rise, 
Nor  the  gilded  shaft  with  its  story  point 

To  the  blue  Virginia  skies  ; 
A  land  to  its  high-born  idols  wed, 

He  knew  would  his  memory  shrine, 
Long  as  he  slept  in  the  classic  shade 

Of  the  mighty  Oak  and  Pine. 

The  sculptured  stone  and  sacred  urn 

May  tell  of  the  dying  name, 
And  the  monument  to  the  ages  bear 

The  record  of  its  Fame; 
Yet  vain  were  such  to  his  piercing  eye, 

As  he  scanned  the  shadowy  years, 
And  his  name  on  the  royal  roll, 

The  brightest  among  its  peers. 

His  eye  in  its    fervid  glances  set 

On  Fame's  eternal  sun, 
His  star  in  the  zenith  of  glory  rose 

With  that  of  Washington  ; 
And  scornful  of  all  worldly  pomp — 

Of  the  hollow  sound  of  praise, 
He  traced  the  scroll  of  his  cenotaph, 

In  the  light  of  the  after-days. 


72  ECHOES  FROM  THE  BATTLEFIELD 

He  sleeps  as  the  sons  of  genius  sleep, 

On  a  consecrated  spot  ; 
While  the  trump  of  fame  to  the  world  proclaims, 

He  shall  never  be  forgot ; 
For  ages  still  will  Virginia's  heart 

Over  the  spot  recline, 
Its  grief  with  the  mournful  requiem  blend 

Of  the  sentry  Oak  and  Pine. 

Keen  as  the  clear  Damascan  blade 

Each  quick,  sarcastic  word, 
His  thoughts  in  a  gush  of   eloquence 

That  the  coldest  bosom  stirred, 
As  the  nervous  glance  of  his  flashing   eye 

Through  the  council  chamber  ran, 
When  armed  with  the  Jael-sword  of  truth, 

He  led  in  the  Roman  van. 

Blent  with  the  dust  of  their  kindred  soil 

His  ashes  of  renown, 
With  his  memory  like  a  jewel  set 

In  Virginia's  casket-crown ; 
And  as  the  seasons  come  and  go, 

And  the  passing  years  decline, 
No  greener  spot  will  the  sleeper  mark 

Than  the  sturdy  Oak  and  Pine. 

[On  the  highest  elevation  within  his  rail  enclosure,oryard, 
stood  an  Oak  of  great   size,  facing  the  east,  and  twelve 


OR   SOUTHERN   LIFE  DURING   THE   WAR.  73 

feet  towards  the  west  was  an  enormous  pine  of  immense 
height  and  majestic  mien.  In  this  space  John  Randolph, 
at  an  early  day,  selected  his  final  resting  place.  His  wishes 
in  this  respect  were  not  disregarded,  for  in  that  memorable 
space,  without  tombstone  or  monument,  and  with  only  the 
Oak  and  Pine  as  nature's  sentries,  rest  the  ashes  of  Vir- 
ginia's brightest  intellect. — CAVALIER.] 


74  ECHOES  FROM  THE  BATTLEFIELD 


ONLY  WAITING. 

[A  very  aged  man  in  an  almshouse  was  asked  what  he 
was  doing  now.     He  replied:    "  Only  waiting."] 

Only  waiting  till  the  shadows 

Are  a  little  longer  grown; 
Only  waiting  till  the  glimmer 

Of  the  day's  last  beam  is  flown  ; 
Till  the  night  of  earth  is  faded 

From  the  heart  once  full  of  day  ; 
Till  the  stars  of  heaven  are  breaking 

Through  the  twilight  soft  and  gray. 

Only  waiting  till  the  reapers 

Have  the  last  sheaf  gathered  home  ; 
For  the  summer-time  is  faded, 

And  the  autumn  winds  have  come. 
Quickly  reapers,  gather  quickly 

The  last  ripe  hours  of  my  heart, 
For  the  bloom  of  life  is  withered, 

And  I  hasten  to  depart. 

Only  waiting  till  the  angels 

Open  wide  the  mystic  gate, 
At  whose  feet  I  long  have  lingered, 

Weary,  poor,  and  desolate. 


OR   SOUTHERN   LIFE   DURING   THE    WAR.  75 

Even  now  I  hear  their  footsteps, 

And  their  voices  far  away; 
If  they  call  me,  I  am  waiting, 

Only  waiting  to  obey. 

Only  waiting  till  the  shadows 

Are  a  little  longer  grown; 
Only  waiting  till  the  glimmer 

Of  the  day's  last  beam  is  flown ; 
Then  from  out  the  gathering  darkness 

Holy,  deathless  stars  shall  rise, 
By  whose  light  my  soul  shall  gladly 

Tread  its  pathway  to  the  skies. 


76  ECHOES  FROM  THE  BATTLEFIELD 

"HOME  OF  THE  SOUL." 

BY    FRENCH    STEANGE. 

In  a  clime  where  no  cloud  ever  shadows  the  sky, 

And  no  storm-burst  of  sorrow  can  roll, 
Nor  a  murmur  of  sadness  mar  ever  its  peace, 

Is  the  Beautiful  Home  of  the  Soul. 

When  the  tumults  of  earth  shall  forever  subside, 

And  I  fathom  the  ultimate  goal, 
Through  the  portals  of  pearl  may  I  entrance  obtain 

To  the  Beautiful  Home  of  the  Soul. 

To  my  rest  would  I  glide  as  a  child  to  its  dreams  : 

As  the  beams  of  the  morning  unroll, 
Wing  upward  my  flight  from  this  cheerless  abode 

To  the  Beautiful  Home  of  the  Soul. 

What  is  there  to  bind  these  affections  below? 

Where  vain  lusts  and  wild  passions  control : 
When  there's  peace  to  be  found  that  is  lasting  and  sweet 

In  the  Beautiful  Home  of  the  Soul. 

As  into  the  night  wanes  the  evening  of  life, 

May  no  billows  of  doubt  o'er  me  roll: 
The  valley  of  shadows  let  me  traverse  in  faith, 

To  the  Beautiful  Home  of  the  Soul. 

From  the  fetters  that  gall  'twould  be  sweet  to  be  free, 
And  the  chains  which  enslave — from  the  dole 

Which  embitters  life's  dream  with  the  pangs  that  will  fade 
In  the  Beautiful  Home  of  the  Soul. 


OK    SOUTHERN   LIFE   DURING    THE   WAR.  77 

During  the  spring  of  1902  our  highly  esteemed  and 
faithful  friend,  French  Strange,  Christian, poet,  and  author; 
a  gentleman  of  the  old  school,  endowed  with  many  sterling 
virtues,  both  of  the  head  and  heart ;  a  man  who  was  pos- 
sessed with  a  very  strong  intellect  and  a  resolute  will ;  as 
a  writer  wielded  his  pen  with  great  force,  especially  when 
bent  on  correcting  some  public  error,  where  ever  he  found 
the  columns  of  the  papers  open  to  his  uses.  His  was  a 
gentle,  yet  courageous  nature.  As  a  husband,  father  and 
friend,  he  was  next  to  incomparable;  while  as  a  citizen  he 
was  one  of  the  few  whose  lives  were  for  the  betterment  of 
the  world.  His  frail  and  tired  body  was  suddenly  and 
without  warning  brought  to  its  rest  while  his  spirit  winged 
its  flight  to  the  "Beautiful  Home  of  the  Soul." 
His  devoted  friend, 

NOBLE  C.  WILLIAMS. 


78  ECHOES  FROM  THE  BATTLEFIELD 

[This  poem  was  written  in  loving  memory  of  our  darling 
little  sou,  LeRoy  Livingston,  who  for  six  short  years  was 
one  of  earth's  fairest  angels,  then  in  the  sweet  spring-time, 
"when  the  arrows  of  noon-day  lodged  in  the  tree-tops 
bright,  he  fell  in  his  saint-like  beauty  asleep  by  the  Gates 
of  Light."]  FATHER. 

VISIONS. 
Beautiful  the  visions  that  are  borne  to  me, 

Down  on  the  misty  sea  of  Time, 
Sweeter  far  than  the  bloom  of  the  lotus- tree, 

Or  the  breeze  from  the  whispering  lime  : 
And  I  live  in  the  days  of  the  long  ago, 

While  a  child's  dear  face  I  see: 
For  our  little  Roy  we  have  loved — not  lost, 
Is  standing  again  at  my  knee. 

But  the  vision  is  past — it  is  gone — 

And  it  fades  from  my  sight  away  : 
Like  soft  rose-tinted  clouds  are  lost 

At  the  close  of  a  sun-lit  day: 
And  another  is  passing  by — 

A  picture,  wondrous,  sweet  and  fair, 
For  on  our  Roy's  angel  face 

Is  resting  a  smile,  from  "over  there." 

But  this  one,  too,  fades  from  my  sight, 

While  another  is  passing  by  : 
And  I  almost  touch  our  darling's  hands, 

As  in  snowy  grace  they  lie  : 


OR   SOUTHERN    LIFE  DURING   THE   WAR.  79 

O,  Vision  :  I  would  bid  you  stay 

Forever  in  my  heart  to  keep  : 
So  saint-like  is  our  Roy's  face, 

So  beautiful  his  sleep. 

Then  comes  the  last — the  fairest  one — 

A  child's  dear  form  in  white  I  see : 
And  close  beside  the  Gates  of  Pearl 

Our  Roy  stands,  and  waits  for  me. 
O,  Visions  fair  !  O,  Visions  bright ! 

Thou  needs't  not  tell  thou  art  Christ-given : 
For  scenes  so  beautiful  and  pure, 

Can  only  come  to  us  from  Heaven. 

MOTHER. 


80  ECHOES  FROM  THE  BATTLEFIELD 

THE  CONQUERED  BANNER. 

BY    ABEAM    J.    EYAN. 

(The  Poet  Priest.) 

Furl  that  banner  !  for  'tis  weary  ; 
'Round  its  staff  'tis  drooping  dreary ; 
Furl  it,  fold  it ;  it  is  best ; 
For  there's  not  a  man  to  wave  it, 
And  there's  not  a  sword  to  save  it ! 
And  there's  not  one  left  to  lave  it 
In  the  blood  which  heroes  gave  it ; 
And  its  foes  now  scorn  and  brave  it — 
Furl  it,  hide  it ;  let  it  rest ! 

Take  that  banner  down  !  'Tis  tattered  ! 
Broken  is  its  staff"  and  shattered  ; 
And  the  valiant  hosts  are  scattered, 
O'er  whom  it  floated  high ; 
Oh  !  'tis  hard  for  us  to  fold  it — 
Hard  to  think  there's  none  to  hold  it ! 
Hard  that  those  who  once  unrolled  it, 
Now  must  furl  it  with  a  sigh  ! 

Furl  that  banner  !  furl  it  sadly  ! 
Once  six  millions  hailed  it  gladly, 
And  ten  thousand  wildly,  madly, 
Swore  it  should  forever  wave  ! 


OR   SOUTHERN    LIFE   DURING    THE    WAR.  81 

Swore  that  foeman's  sword  should  never 
Hearts  entwined  like  theirs  dissever  ; 
And  upheld  by  brave  endeavor, 
That  dear  flag  should  float  forever 
O'er  their  freedom  or  their  grave. 

Furl  it !  for  the  hands  that  grasped  it, 
And  the  hearts  that  fondly  clasped  it, 
Cold  and  dead  are  lying  low  ; 
And  that  banner  prone  is  trailing, 
While  around  it  sounds  are  wailing 
Of  its  people  in  their  woe  ! 

For,  though  conquered,  they  adore  it, 
Love  the  cold  dead  hands  that  bore  it, 
Weep  for  those  that  fell  before  it — 
Pardon  those  who  trailed  and  tore  it  ; 
And,  oh,  wildly  they  deplore  it, 
Now  to  furl  and  fold  it  so  ! 

Furl  that  banner !  True  'tis  gory, 
But  'tis  wreathed  around  with  glory, 
And  'twill  live  in  song  and  story, 
Though  its  folds  are  in  the  dust ! 
For  its  fame  on  brightest  pages, 
Penned  by  poets  and  by  sages, 
Shall  go  sounding  down  the  ages, 
Furl  its  folds  though  now  we  must. 


6  si 


82  ECHOES  FROM  THE  BATTLEFIELD 

Furl  that  banner !  sadly,  slowly  ! 
Treat  it  gently — it  is  holy, 
For  it  waves  above  the  dead  ; 
Touch  it  not — unfold  it  never  ! 
Let  it  lie  there,  furled  forever, 
For  its  people's  hopes  are  dead  ! 


OR   SOUTHERN    LIFE   DURING    THE    WAR.  83 


YE  BATTERIES  OF  BEAUREGARD. 

BY  JAMES  R.  BARRICK,  OF  KENTUCKY. 

Ye  batteries  of  Beauregard  ! 

Pour  hail  from  Moultrie's  wall ; 
Bid  the  shock  of  your  deep  thunder 

On  their  fleet  in  terror  fall ; 
Rain  your  storm  of  leaden  fury 

On  the  black  invading  hosts — 
Te<ich  them  that  their  step  shall  never 

Press  on  Carolina's  coast. 

Ye  batteries  of  Beauregard  ! 

Sound  the  story  of  our  wrong ! 
Let  your  tocsin  wake  the  spirit 

Of  a  people  brave  and  strong ; 
The  proud  names  of  old  remember — 

Marion,  Sumter,  Pinckney,  Green ; 
Swell  the  roll  whose  deeds  of  glory, 

Side  by  side  with  theirs  are  seen. 

Ye  batteries  of  Beauregard  ! 

From  Savannah  on  them  frown ; 
By  the  majesty  of  Heaven 

Strike  their  grand  "Armada"  down  ; 
By  the  blood  of  many  a  freeman, 

By  each  dear-bought  battle-field, 


84  ECHOES  FROM  THE  BATTLEFIELD 

By  the  hopes  we  fondly  cherish, 
Never  ye  the  victory  yield  ! 

Ye  batteries  of  Beauregard  ! 

All  along  our  Southern  coast, 
Let,  in  after-time,  your  triumphs 

Be  a  nation's  pride  and  boast ; 
Send  each  missile  with  a  greeting 

To  the  vile,  ungodly  crew ; 
Make  them  feel  they  ne'er  can  conquer 

People  to  themselves  so  true. 

Ye  batteries  of  Beauregard  ! 

By  the  glories  of  the  past, 
By  the  memory  of  old  Sumter, 

Whose  renown  will  ever  last, 
Speed  upon  their  vaunted  legions 

Volleys  thick  of  shot  and  shell ; 
Bid  them  welcome,  in  your  glory, 

To  their  own  appointed  hell. 


OR   SOUTHERN    LIFE   DURING   THE   WAR.  85 


[From  the  Savannah  News  and  Herald.] 
"IN  MEMORIAM." 

BY  FATHER  RYAN. 

We  are  indebted  to  Rev.  A.  J.  Ryan,  the  gifted  South- 
ern poet,  for  a  manuscript  copy  of  lines  on  the  death  of  his 
brother,  a  Confederate  soldier,  who  died  on  one  of  the  bat- 
tle-fields of  Kentucky.  It  was  one  of  the  pieces  read  at 
the  entertainment  for  the  benefit  of  the  Catholic  orphans, 
and  Father  Ryan's  introduction  to  the  reading  of  it  was 
thrillingly  pathetic  and  eloquent,  and  was  received  by  the 
audience  attentively  and  with  the  most  impressive  silence. 
The  speaker  stated  that  he  had  a  brother,  at  the  breaking 
out  of  the  war,  who  applied  to  him  for  advice  regarding 
the  army.  He  referred  him  to  their  mother,  to  whom  the 
young  patriot  wrote  an  appeal.  Like  many  a  Southern 
mother,  she  told  him  to  go  and  defend  the  cause  of  his 
people.  He  died  under  the  Confederate  flag ;  but  the 
speaker  would  rather  have  him  there  under  the  soil  oi 
Kentucky,  in  a  soldier's  grave,  than  living  in  a  down-trod- 
den land.  The  lines  cannot  be  read  without  emotion  by 
any  capable  of  appreciating  the  sensations  so  poetically  ex- 
pressed. 

IN  MEMORIAM— D.  J.  R. 

Thou  art  sleeping,  brother,  sleeping 

In  the  lonely  battle  grave  ; 
Shadows  o'er  the  path  are  creeping — 
Death,  the  reaper,  still  is  reaping — 


86  ECHOES  FROM  THE  BATTLEFIELD 

Years  are  swept,  and  years  are  sweeping,. 
Many  a  memory  from  my  keeping, 
But  I  am  waiting  still  and  weeping 
For  my  beautiful  and  brave. 

When  the  battle-songs  were  chanted, 

And  war's  stirring  tocsin  pealed, 
By  whose  songs  their  heart  was  haunted 
And  thy  spirit,  proved,  undaunted, 
Clamored  wildly — wildly  panted — 
"Mother,  let  my  wish  be  granted, 
I  will  ne'er  be  mocked  and  taunted 
That  I  fear  to  meet  our  vaunted 
Foemau  on  the  bloody  field." 

"They  are  thronging,  mother,  thronging 

To  a  thousand  fields  of  fame ; 
Let  me  go — 'tis  wrong,  and  wronging 
God  and  thee  to  crush  this  longing  ; 
On  the  muster-roll  of  glory 
In  my  country's  future  story, 
On  the  field  of  battle  gory, 
I  must  consecrate  my  name." 

"Mother,  gird  my  sword  around  me  ; 

Kiss  thy  soldier-boy  'good-bye'." 
In  her  arms  she  wildly  wound  thee, 
To  thy  birthland's  cause  she  bound  thee, 


OR   SOUTHERN    LIFE   DURING    THE   WAR.  87 

With  fond  prayers  and  blessings  crowned  thee, 
Arid  she  sobbed  :  "When  foes  surround  thee 
If  you  fall,  I  know  they  found  thee 
Where  the  bravest  love  to  die." 

At  the  altar  of  their  nation 

Stood  that  mother  and  her  son ; 
He — the  victim  of  oblation, 
Panting  for  his  immolation  ; 
She  in  priestess'  holy  station, 
Weeping  words  of  consecration 
While  God  smiled  his  approbation, 
Blessed  the  boy's  self-abnegation, 
Cheered  the  mother's  desolation, 

When  the  sacrifice  was  done. 

Forth,  like  many  a  noble  other, 

Went  he,  whispering  soft  and  low, 
"Good-bye;  pray  for  me,  my  mother; 
Sister,  kiss  me  ;  farewell,  brother  ;" 
And  he  strove  his  grief  to  smother ; 
Forth,  with  spirit  proud  and  peerless — 
Forth,  with  footsteps  firm  and  fearless — 
And  his  parting  gaze  was  tearless, 
Though  his  heart  was  lone  and  cheerless, 

Thus  from  all  he  loved,  to  go. 

Lo,  yon  flag  of  freedom  flashing 
In  the  sunny  Southern  sky  ! 


ECHOES  FROM  THE  BATTLEFIELD 

On — to  death  and  glory  dashing — 
On — where  swords  are  clanging — clashing — 
On — where  balls  are  crushing — crashing — 
On — 'mid  perils,  dread,  appalling — • 
On — they're  falling — falling — falling — 
On — they're  growing  fewer — fewer — 
On — their  hearts  beat  all  the  truer — 
On — on — on — no  fear — no  falter — 
On — though  'round  the  battle-altar 
There  were  wounded  victims  groaning — 
There  were  dying  victims  moaning — 
On — right  on — death — danger  braving— 
Warriug  where  their  flag  was  waving, 
And  baptismal  blood  was  laving 
With  a  tide  of  crimson  water 
All  that  field  of  death  and  slaughter ; 
On — still  on — the  bloody  laver 
Made  them  brave  and  made  then  braver ; 
On — with  never  a  halt  or  waver — 
On — they're  battling — bleeding — bounding, 
While  the  glorious  shout  is  sounding, 
"We  will  win  the  day  or  die." 

And  they  won  it — routed — riven, 
Reeled  the  foeman's  proud  array, 

They  had  struggled  long  and  striven. 

Blood  in  torrents  they  had  given, 

But  their  ranks,  dispersed  and  driven, 
Fled  disgracefully  away. 


OR   SOUTHERN   LIFE   DURING   THE   WAR.  89 

Many  a  heart  was  lonely  lying 

There  that  would  not  throb  again  ; 
Some  were  dead  and  some  were  dying ; 
Some  were  silent,  some  were  sighing; 
Thus  to  die — lone — unattended — 
Unbewept  and  unbefriended — 

On  that  bloody  plain. 
When  the  twilight,  sadly,  slowly, 

Wrapped  its  mantle  o'er  them  all ; 
O'er  these  thousands  lying  lowly — 
Hushed  in  silence  deep  and  holy — 
There  was  one, — his  blood  was  flowing 
And  his  last  of  life  was  going — 
And  his  pulse  faint — fainter  beating 
Told  his  hours  were  few  and  fleeting; 
And  his  brow  grew  white  and  whiter 
And  his  eyes  grew  bright  and  brighter — 
There  he  lay — like  infant  dreaming, 
With  his  sword  beside  him  gleaming; 
For  the  hand  in  life  that  grasped  it, 
True  to  death — still  fondly  clasped  it. 
There  his  comrades  found  him  lying, 
'Mid  the  heaps  of  dead  and  dying; 
And  the  sternest  there  bent  weeping, 
O'er  that  lonely  sleeper  sleeping, 
'Twas  the  midnight — stars  shone  'round  him — 
In  a  shroud  of  glory  bound  him ; 


90  ECHOES   FROM   THE   BATTLEFIELD 

And  they  told  us  how  they  found  him 
Where  the  bravest  love  to  fall. 

Where  the  woods  like  banners  bending, 

Drooped  in  glory  and  in  gloom — 
There,  when  that  sad  night  was  ending, 
And  the  faint,  far  dawn  was  blending 
With  the  stars  now  fast  descending — 
There — they  mute  and  mournful  bore  him- 
With  the  stars  and  shadows  o'er  him — 
There — they  laid  him  down  so  tender, 
And  the  next  day's  sun  and  splendor 
Flashed  upon  my  brother's  tomb. 


OR    SOUTHERN    LIFE   DURING    THE   WAR.  91 


TO  MY  FRIEND. 

We  miss  you  and  our  hearts  are  sad  and  lonely, 
We  miss  you  and  the  void  is  never  filled, 

It  calls  your  name  forever  and  yours  only, 

As  one  great  need,  love-born  and  life-enstilled. 

We  miss  you,  as  the  captive  shut  forever 
Within  blank  walls  of  ever-living  gloom, 

Must  miss  the  song  of  birds,  the  shining  river, 

God's  best  sunshine  and  all  earth's  joy  and  bloom. 

We  miss  you  as  life's  sweet  and  pleasant  hours 
Are  missed  when  through  long  care,  jar  and  fret, 

And  bitter  loss,  our  tears  wet  withered  flowers, 
And  all  life  holds  forevermore-regrets. 

Your  pictured  face  in  memory's  jeweled  setting 
(A  clearer  view  than  genius  ever  threw 

On  painted  canvass)  leaves  us  no  forgetting, 

Even  though  our  hearts  were  less  bereaved  and  true. 

We  miss  you  with  our  single  balm  for  sorrow, 
Else  greater  than  our  burdened  hearts  could  bear; 

Our  souls  sometimes,  in  God's  fair  lo-morrow, 
May  meet  and  greet  each  other  "over  there." 

VIVIEN  CASTANE. 
Brunswick,  Georgia. 


92  ECHOES  FROM  THE  BATTLEFIELD 


WHEN  RUCKER  CALLS  THE  ROLL. 

BY    F.    O.    CHASE. 

How  thick  the  memories  come  to  mind, 

Of  many  a  tented  plain, 
Of  fading  lines,  of  faded  grey 

And  gastly  heaps  of  slain, 
Of  bugles  blaring  through  the  night 

In  tones  that  stir  the  soul, 
The  days  of  '62  come  back 

When  Rucker  calls  the  roll. 

Full  many  a  roll  call  comes  to  mind, 

Full  many  a  sad  parade 
Of  muskets  glinting  down  the  line 

And  gleam  of  saber  blade, 
Though  few  they  be  who  do  not  sleep 

Beneath  some  grassy  knoll, 
In  vivid  visions  all  come  back 

When  Rucker  calls  the  roll. 

Then  here's  to  Rucker — loyal  heart, 

Faithful  and  tried  and  true — 
And  when  death's  bugle  sounds  for  taps 

Our  prayers  shall  go  with  you. 
May  many  years  pass  o'er  your  head 

Ere  the  last  sad  bell  shall  toll 
To  tell  that  faithful  Rucker 

No  more  shall  call  the  roll. 


OR    SOUTHERN    LIFE    DURING    THE    WAR.  93 

The  foregoing  beautiful  poem  written  by  a  white  comrade 
in  honor  of  a  colored  man,  who  can  as  perfectly  call  the  roll 
of  his  company  to-day,  as  he  did  during  the  war,  is  but  an 
expression  of  the  true  feeling  as  it  to-day  exists  between  the 
whites  and  blacks  who  were  companions  during  the  war  ; 
one  as  master,  the  other  as  slave,  yet  their  love  was  and 
still  continues  strong  for  each  other.  Uncle  Amos,  as  he  is 
familiarly  called,  is  a  well  known  colored  citizen  of  Atlanta 
and  has  been  a  familiar  figure  upon  its  streets  ever  since 
the  close  of  the  war,  and  the  man,  woman,  or  child,  who 
has  for  any  length  of  time  been  a  citizen  and  has  not  the 
honor  of  this  grand  old  man's  acquaintance,  has  certainly 
missed  something ;  for  the  genial  happy  smile  on  his  face 
as  it  beams  over  with  good  nature,  when  he  politely  raises 
his  hat  and  at  the  same  time  speaks  some  pleasant  and 
cheering  words,  would  almost  touch  a  heart  of  stone. 

Amos  Rucker  entered  the  army  with  his  young  master, 
Sergent  Cornelius  Samples,  who  was  sergent  of  Company 
C.  63rd  Ga.  Regiment,  and  in  every  manner  proved  him- 
self loyal  and  true  to  the  Southern  cause.  He  is  now  a 
member  of  Camp  Walker  Confederate  Veterans  of  Atlanta. 
His  friends,  and  they  are  many,  all  hope  and  believe  that- 
the  Georgia  State  Legislature,  now  in  session,  will  substan- 
tially reward  him  for  his  services  in  the  past,  and  his  loy- 
alty of  the  present.  It  would  be  but  a  fitting  tribute  to 
show  to  the  world  that  the  great  State  of  Georgia  is  as 
ready  to  grant  pensions  to  its  worthy  colored  soldiers  as  it 
is  to  their  former  masters,  whom  they  so  faithfully  served. 


94  ECHOES  FROM  THE  BATTLEFIELD 

Amos,  who  is  now  74  years  old,  would  greatly  appreci- 
ate this  little  token  of  recognition,  and  his  prayers  would 
no  doubt  follow  the  generous  doners.  A  word  to  a  wise 
legislature  is  sufficient.  And  now  dear  old  friend,  may  the 
closing  days  of  your  life  be  spent  surrounded  with  peace 
and  plenty,  and  when  the  time  comes  for  you  to  withdraw 
from  the  battles  of  earth,  may  you  be  fully  prepared  to 
answer  the  call  of  the  roll  when  the  Master  shall  call  your 
name  at  the  heavenly  gate. 

Your  friend, 

NOBLE  C.  WILLIAMS. 


ATLANTA,  GA.,  March  24,  1898. 

I  have  read  the  manuscript  of  an  interesting  War  Sketch 
written  by  Mr.  Noble  C.  Williams  of  this  city,  entitled 
Echoes  From  The  Battlefield,  or  Southern  Life  During 
The  War.  It  is  written  in  an  easy,  flowing  and  pleasing 
style,  and  its  perusal  will  repay  the  time  devoted  it. 

FRENCH  STRANGE. 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  AT  LOS  ANGELES 

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